


Marked by Music

by Sylanna



Series: Marks and Music [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Fanart, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 49,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25932085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylanna/pseuds/Sylanna
Summary: Soul-marks formed based on compatibility of the of the fëa are a great help in dating, but don't promise a happy-ever-after. Especially in fast-paced modern times, even finding the match is sometimes impossible.After a large meet-and-greet with fans, a soulmark forms on the chest of the popular musician Lindir. There is no way he can find his possible mate alone, if they do not want to be found.
Relationships: Background Fingon/Maedhros, Elrond Peredhel/Lindir, Erestor/Glorfindel (Tolkien), Haldir of Lothlórien/Legolas Greenleaf
Series: Marks and Music [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939819
Comments: 122
Kudos: 105





	1. Prelude

“Please ada!”, Elladan begged. “I won two meet-and-greets with my favourite band and have no one to go with!”

His favourite band was one that played elvish folk rock music. It is not a genre Elrond himself preferred, but he did not hate it either.

“You would take your old ada to a concert for the young?”, he asked instead.

Elladan shrugged. “There are not only young people there”, he defended his taste. “And you said yourself, the Imladrim Minstrels are not bad.”

“I knew that would come back to haunt me”, Elrond sighed. “Fine. You just need me as your driver anyway, am I correct?”

Elladan looked sheepish. “That's not the only reason I want you with me”, he protests, but it is weak. Elrond could see his son's mind working, searching for a better reason. “I really want you to come along”, he just ended up with.

Of course, Elrond did not deny his son this wish. The concert had been all Elladan had been talking about for weeks. At first, he had wanted to go with his twin, Elrohir. Unfortunately, Elrohir just found a new boyfriend and was otherwise occupied. This had left Elladan with two tickets. Before Elrohir declared his decision to spend the day with his partner, Elrond had allowed his sons to participate in a lottery, for getting meet-and-greet updates for their tickets. Neither expected to actually win, but it happened.

Elladan could barely contain himself in the last few hours before they were about to leave. Elrond noted this with amusement. He allowed him to play the music in the car, very loudly, at the maximum capacity of the speakers. The bass line is shook Elrond and the car, but he hid a smile. The songs were actually good. Now that he had time to listen to the lyrics, they were quite thoughtful.

After some time, Elrond bid his son to turn down the music a bit. The traffic was getting heavier the closer they came to their destination and he had to focus on the other cars. To keep Elladan occupied, he asked another question: “Tell me something about the musicians, they have a harpist, do they?”

“Yes, he's the Minstrel. He's also the one who sings most of the songs and writes them. Which is quite fascinating, if one can believe what he tells about his shyness, when it comes to performing.”

“He certainly conquered it”, Elrond murmured. “And the other members?”

“Greyelf plays the electric bass guitar and lute, Greenleaf is on the guitar, the Archeress plays the drums, her set is quite interesting, as she also is proficient with hand-held drums. And there's the Adviser, who plays the rhythmic guitar and occasionally the flute”, he explained. “They are all using stage-names”, he added, as if it wasn't already painfully obvious.

“You are talking quite a lot about them”, Elrond remarked.

“Of course!”, Elladan answered, haughtily. “They are my favourite band after all.”

“And you don't have a crush on any of them?” It is fatherly talk, and Elrond knew it. It was sometimes fun to tease his children a bit.

As expected, this riled Elladan up. “No! I just like the music a lot.”


	2. Lights Out

“How much time do we have left?”, Lindir asked. He was always a bit anxious about being on time.

“Enough”, Erestor answered. In comparison, he was really calm. “We don't have to leave our bus for another fifty minutes at least.”

“Sure…?”, Lindir wasn't. He also didn't have his phone by his side to check the time himself.

“Erestor is right”, Legolas said from the side and held his screen up. It showed the time and a disgustingly cute picture of him and Haldir. Two and a half hours left before they needed to be on stage. At least the setup has been built up in time. At the last concert, they had been delayed a bit because of a traffic jam,

Lindir nods. “Where's Haldir by the way?”, he asked. Their bassist sometimes vanished before the show for about half an hour, they shouldn't be worried.

Legolas just shrug ged . “He's taking his customary walk. Apparently there's a park a few minutes away from here and he wants to see it.”

For the hardened image Haldir usually present ed , he has a soft spot for everything  growing . It is something that ma de him and Legolas such a harmonic pairing, even if the latter d id not go on walks before a concert. “Too many fans roaming the streets.”

Lindir knew the struggle. He and Legolas were the ones to be most likely to be surrounded by squealing fans. This is why they were both glad for their trailer. Haldir however managed to hide in public, by wearing a beanie over his hairs and ears and stuffing himself into baggy clothes. It was enough for most fans to ignore him. On stage, he always wore traditional elven armor. In Lindir's opinion, this was a stupid choice, but he gave up arguing on that long ago. When they had started the band, everyone agreed to an in-costume approach and stage-names. They kept the practice up for years now.

“Hey Erestor?”, Lindir started a question. “Does your mate Glorfindel come over tonight?”

“Yes”, Erestor replied. “I already gave him the behind the scenes pass two days ago. I am so happy he has the time to watch the show.”

Erestor and Glorfindel met at a three-day medieval festival, where they had been booked in their early years as midday-act, but with guest passes for the whole weekend. Glorfindel had been one of the stage technicians. Thankfully, Erestor's soul mark developed within those few days and they found each other. In their business, missed connections are unfortunately a common occurrence. Too many crowded space and creeps around.

Lindir smiled. “It is good to know you are happy.”

“Thanks, Lindir”, Erestor said. “What do you think, which robe shall I wear tonight?”

“The golden one”, Lindir answered immediately. He once saw Glorfindel look at this piece of clothing with great interest. It would certainly be interesting to see if he still reacted to it.

“Only if you wear your deep blue one”, Erestor negotiated.

“Fine, if it makes you happy”, Lindir relented. Such was their pre-concert banter and he played along gladly.

“Guys, have you seen my daggers?”, Tauriel suddenly asked. She jumped down from her bed on the upper row of their tour bus and landed in the middle of the small walkway.

“Your what?”

“She means her special drum-sticks with the pointy ends”, Lindir explained.

“Oh”, Erestor murmured. More clearly, he added: “I brought them to the stage already, when we were doing the sound-check.”

“Thank you!”, Tauriel answered and stormed off.

“I wonder when she will loose her excitement”, the Adviser said in a low tone.

“Never. And I am glad for it”, Lindir whispered. Then he changed the topic. “Do you know how many tickets have gone out for the meet-and-greet tonight?”

“From what the manager told me, around sixty.”

“That's a lot”, Lindir groaned. “I thought I told Turgon to cut down on those.”

“And his boss, you know, Fingolfin, boss of the whole label, overruled him. Something to do with our fame and image and stuff. I know, I don't like it either.” Erestor shook his head.

“Well, we have dealt with worse. Remember the Minas-Festival last year.” Lindir sighed. “Those were too many.”

Erestor just agreed.

Half an hour after their conversation, Haldir came back from his walk. “The line is already stretching quite a long way”, he informed them.

“How was the park, my dear?”, Legolas asked from his partner from his sleeping place in the upper row.

“Small, but not too crowded.”

“Did you run into fans?”, Lindir asked from the side.

Haldir chucked. “I ran into a few, but none recognized me, thankfully.”

“They know you only in your stage clothes”, Legolas said with a smile on his lips. “I am glad you are back. I was already worrying.”

“You worry too much, dearest.”

Lindir coughs. “Please, not now. We are expected backstage in a few minutes. We should leave.”

“You are no fun”, Legolas protested.

With the sound-check already over, it was time for them to prepare backstage, entering the stage-outfits and putting on some make-up. Also, they met their opener. It is a smaller band they have worked with before. Lindir greeted their lead-singer and wished them luck. From the concert hall, he was able to hear the chatter screaming of the audience. Even if their appearance was still off for another hour or so. At first, their opener would have thirty minutes, followed by a short break.

Lindir himself took out his outfit for the evening. He followed Erestor's advise and took the deep blue one with the golden lining.  It was his favourite rove to wear on stage. It was lighter than it looked and he did not get too sweaty in comparison. The fabrics were not historically accurate, but in this matter, Lindir did not care. He wrote music for modern instruments, so a more modern touch to the wardrobe was certainly allowed. Most fans did not care either.  There had been once a remarkable stupid human, would had commented badly, but the band had chosen to ignore such people from then on.  Historically accurate costuming can be a hassle sometimes. Haldir has certainly complained about it a few times, but he still refused to relinquish his hold on his armor. When Lindir asked him, why he was still wearing the heavy piece on stage, Haldir had answered in a long statement. Basically, the armor was part of his history and he loved it for it. Yes, in summer, it was very hot underneath the metal plates, always.

They went out on stage as planned. The spotlights were blazing and Lindir had to shut his eyes for a moment. When he was able to open them again, he took a look around the venue. There were fans everywhere. Especially the first line seemed enthusiastic. They were cheering as loud as they could.  Lindir waved at them and the noise got louder. Behind him, the others took their places and Tauriel started with the rhythm for their opening song.

“That was quite the show”, Dearon remarked in their back-stage area. He was the lead singer of their opening band and had watched the whole concert of the Imladrim Minstrel’s from the side lines.

“Thanks Dea”, Lindir responded. “I feel completely exhausted right now.” He had not been able to shed his slightly sweaty robe yet, because of the meet-and-greet that was still scheduled. At least he was allowed a small break before it.

“I am sorry”, Turgon had said, when Lindir had confronted him. “My father was not in the mood for negotiations when I asked him to approve the changes in your contract.”

“It’s fine”, Lindir had answered. “The last months before official renegotiations, I can survive.” It was true. Contracts were only signed for a few years, with duties and concessions on both sides, the band and the label’s. The negotiations of a continued contract were already not too far away.

Turgon sighed. “I hope you don’t plan on changing labels.”

The Imladrim Minstrel’s had already discussed this in private. So far, they were contend with most of the contract’s content. Only the fan-activities, they wanted to reduce a bit.  With their risen status, problems with too forward fans had surfaced and especially Lindir wished to have this handled differently.

“Your show was not bad either”, Lindir complimented the lead singer of their opening band. “The audience was well heated up when we walked out on stage.”

“We did our best”, Luthien chimed in, their background-vocalist. On stage, she usually wore a long white dress. Now, she had changed into a completely black outfit with studs all over it. “When do you have to go out for the fan-circus?”, she asked.

“In a few minutes”, Lindir answered. “I could use a drink though.”

“Here you go”, Tauriel suddenly interrupted. She pressed a glass into Lindir’s hands. “It’s mead, mixed with some cherry juice, just how you like it.”

“Thank you”, Lindir said and clinked his glass to hers. In her glass, some green concoction was swirling. He did not ask what she was drinking. It looked toxic, and it’s alcoholic content probably was. Tauriel always ordered one strong drink after a concert and then kept to water. She had never given an explanation for this habit.

In the door to the backstage area, Turgon appeared. “Imladrim Minstrels, it is time for the meet-and-greet, if you would please follow me.”

Lindir heard Haldir sigh. He himself chugged down his red mead and grabbed a bottle of water on the way out. If he was going to talk to many fans now, he needed something for his vocal chords. Those were already strained because of the concert.

The meeting took place in the main concert. A line had been formed by the people who wished to meet them. At least this time, they had gotten three small tables to stand at. It made signing autographs to whatever the fans wished signed easier. The security team was standing on attention, should anyone try something bad. Lindir was glad for their presence. He had once tried to usher people who had refused to go himself and it had ended not well.

The fans cheered when they took their places. Erestor stood with Tauriel, Legolas and Haldir also shared a table. It left Lindir alone at one, as per their usual agreement. He pulled the most people, just because he was the lead singer and front.  Sometimes, he wished he had taken an other profession, with less people.  Still, he loved making music and giving it up was not an option.

T he first one at his table was a young woman, human, judging by the shape of her ears. Most of the audience probably was. Elvish culture was intriguing to many of their decent. Lindir could not blame them for it. He liked the human culture himself.

“It is such an honour to meet you!”, she bubbled in an excited manner.

Lindir gave her a smile. “Good evening to you”, he said in greeting.

“I do not want to take too much of your time”, she whispered then. “But, could you sign this CD-case for me?”

“I would love to”, Lindir answered. The shy ones were his favourite ones.

The line of people passed through for the next thirty minutes or so. Only two times, the security person had to step forward a bit to remind someone to go on.

“Mae Govannen, Mister Minstrel”, someone suddenly said. Lindir was a bit preoccupied with drinking a bit of water, so he took some seconds to adjust. The line had shrunken down to at least half of their original length. Before him stood two half-elves. Their ears were rounder than Lindir’s own, so he assumed they had human blood in them. It was the younger one who had spoken.

“Mae govannen”, Lindir responded. “Did you enjoy the concert?”

“Oh yes!”, the young one answered immediately. Then he turned to the older one. “And you, father?”

Ah, father and son then. Lindir breathed in. The older one had immediately caught his eye, he was handsome and intriguing in his manners. If Lindir had been of any other profession, he would have tried to strike up a longer conversation to at least get the name.

“I did enjoy it”, the father said. “So far, I only heard your songs through my son’s insistence, only on CD ever. I am impressed by the energy you possess on stage, relaying the stories you tell with your words. Also, your playing of the harp came as a bit of a surprise to me.”

The father was very well spoken. Lindir blushed a bit with all the praise. It was something different, to hear it from an adult, who had not been a fan previously. “Thank you for your kind words”, he stammered. Then, the singer turned to the younger one. “Do you want an autograph somewhere?”

“Could you sign my shirt? I brought special markers for it.”

Of course Lindir signed the shirt with the offered pen. It was indeed one with a specialized ink that would not wash out easily.  Internally he congratulated the ellon to such thoughtfulness.

“Have a good evening and a safe trip home”, Lindir wished both of them. “I would like to see you at another concert in the future again.” Most of the time, it was his usual sentence of good-bye he could utter without much thought. This time, he meant it.

A fter them, three guys came in for autographs and Lindir concentrated on them.

“That was quite the crowd”, Haldir remarked later, when they were in the bus again, sharing a last drink in the sitting area. Legolas was leaning on his shoulder, already half asleep. Erestor had vanished shortly after the meet-and-greet had ended. He was probably spending the night with Glorfindel in some nearby hotel. The rest of them had just opted for the tour-bus. With the coming of daylight, they would be ferried over to another city, to play another concert. Thankfully without fan-interaction afterwards.

Turgon had joined them for the bus, after he had overseen the storing of all their equipment in the belly of the bus.

Lindir took a sip of his drink and nodded. “Yes”, he agreed. “My wrist tells me how often I have signed my stage name to paper and other surfaces tonight.”

Haldir laughed roughly. “I feel the same, but it only adds to the aches from playing the music. You only have to hold the microphone most of the time.”

“Or play the harp”, Lindir reminded him.

“Guys, stop complaining”, Tauriel joked. “You could try playing the drums in a corset once, then we can talk.”

“I think we could argue the whole night over this, ridiculously. At least none of us wears armor”, Lindir argued and gave Haldir a stern look. “How do you stand it?”

“I got used to it”, the ellon answered and shrugged. “Halls are easy, the summer festivals are what’s killing me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> So far, writing this is going well and I have a plan where this is going. That's better than what I can say about some of my other stories *hides in a corner  
> I hope you enjoyed the story so far.


	3. Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too early update, but writing has been going good in the rainy days I have been having.

Five days passed since the concert that had ended in the meet-and-greet. The Imladrim Minstrels are still on tour, but they have a few days off in between concerts. Their concert in the city of Osgiliath is scheduled for two days from now. Lindir and his companions share an apartment with four bedrooms. One is shared by Haldir and Legolas, as is their usual as they are a bonded pair. Glorfindel had surprised them all by coming with them, taking a few days off of work himself to spent the time with Erestor. The second bedroom is theirs. Tauriel and Lindir have their own rooms.

Lindir woke up with the memory of grey eyes still fresh. He has been dreaming of those for a few nights now. He knows who they belonged to. The older ellon at the meet-and-greet at the second to last concert, the one who had been accompanying his son. It was strange for him to be so obsessed with a stranger he didn’t even know the name of.

Lindir was the first one awake of his group, as usual. The others kept to their almost nocturnal schedule, not bothering to change it. They would be back on it by Saturday anyway. They would be performing in the biggest hall of Osgiliath that day. Lindir himself longed to see something of the city beforehand. He never had the chance to see the town before. He had heard it had a beautiful historic centre. Today, the historians were debating, if there are elven influences to be seen in the architecture. It is interesting, because most elves had lived then in the lands of Beleriand and no exchange of knowledge had occurred in the time-period in question. Lindir has read some articles on the topic and wants to see now for himself.

But first, a bath and breakfast were needed. Living in the bus was always too crowded to make oneself very comfortable. The showers in the backstage areas of the concert halls weren’t better. Lindir was desperately in need of some time alone.

He closed the bathroom door behind him silently and turned the knob. He did not wish to wake anyone of his fellow musicians or their bonded partners. He began to undress himself, folding his sleeping clothes neatly and putting them on the shelf beside the shower. He checked if his towel was in rage and stepped into the cold spray. It did much to make himself more aware, but after some time, Lindir changed the temperature to warmer, relaxing his muscles.

When he stepped out of the shower, he felt ready for the day and was able to keep his eyes open. They immediately fell to his reflection in the mirror. At first, Lindir was confused as to what he was seeing. Then it sunk in.

On his chest, in the middle of his torso, there was a reddish spot. So far, it had no defined contours, but Lindir new what this was. A soul mark. He must have met someone who had triggered it. His possible mate. Lindir let himself sink down to the cold floor. He knew the overall chances of meeting them again only too well. In his circle, he had two lucky bonded pairs, but he had seen Tauriel suffer. She had had two missed connections so far. The mark will only deepen with continued contact with the one who inspired it, until a true soul bond is achieved. If not, it will fade again to nothingness. Lindir does not want to experience a fading. Alone the thought is horrible. He needs to find the one who inspired the colour in him.

Lindir did not take immediate action. He knew his band-mates would hate him for waking them up, so he made the trip into the city first, as he had planned. He took a leaf out of Haldir’s book and covered his hair and ears with a beanie. Another look into the mirror told him how ridiculous he looked, but it would serve as disguise.

The sights were enough to take his mind of the new development. Even with his own knowledge of history, Lindir was not able to interpret the architecture. It was true, there were distinctly organic shapes in the decorations and arches, like they were found in elven ruins, but everything else was rectangular in the mannish fashion. It was certainly beautiful. Nowadays, the building housed museums on the upper floors and small boutiques on the street level. Interestingly enough, these shops catered to all peoples, well except for the ents, but those did not need clothes or food. There was even one small market that catered to a hobbit audience, with pipeweed and tea for every meal, be it elevensies, second breakfast or dinner. Lindir went in and looked around. The shop also had some offerings for take-away meals such as bread with cheese or ham, with a hobbit-style sauce underneath. Lindir bought one to try it out and fill his own belly. The hobbit behind the counter looked at him strangely, probably because of his distinctly elven stature. He packed the bread into his bag and left the shop.

He found a smallish park hidden between an apartment complex and a skyscraper covered in glass. There was some dirt from careless people on the ground, but the benches seemed to be clean. Lindir let himself sink down on one of them, turning his face towards the sun for a moment. The day was beautiful, with only a few clouds throwing their shadow down.

He sat like this for a few minutes, eyes closed. Unfortunately, his belly growled, so Lindir took out the bread he bought and bit into it. It was really tasty, much stronger in flavour than traditional elven food, for example. The sauce made it a tasteful combination, which the ellon quite enjoyed.

When he looked around more, he realized the origin of this park must have been a graveyard. All the tombstones were gone, that’s why he did not see it immediately. There was one stone tomb tough still standing. The engraved tengwar on the side were faded, so Lindir was not able to read them. It must have been someone of importance though, because otherwise, it would have been removed with the repurposing of the space. He could now take out his phone and do a quick research, but he did not. He left his phone in the bag.

Surprisingly, the small park wasn’t frequented by many people. Only three construction workers passed through in the time Lindir was sitting there, even though it was close to the city centre. Lindir took the unobserved moments and peeked underneath his own shirt, to see if the mark had deepened a bit. From Tauriel’s fate he knew how it would find a meaningful shape for a few months, before fading into nothingness. She had tried to find her missed chances with modern means like websites for missed connections, to no avail.

There was only one real possibility when he could have missed his compatible person, it came to him. With the time it took for the mark to appear, it must have happened in one of the two last concert venues. Talking to someone and receiving an answer was enough, so it must have been someone he had talked to. That left him with too many people. The last concert, he was certain he could ignore. He had not had any conversation with the stage-hands and the opening act he had already known. That left him with the dreadful meet-and-greet evening. At least a hundred possible options, most of them untraceable. His possible mate was probably among those fans. They must have it worse, he thought for a moment. They would be left with the uncertainty if their person had been in the audience. With the venue fully booked, that left thousands of options.

Back in the apartment he was sharing with his band-mates, Lindir phoned Turgon. The tour-manager was in Osgiliath too, but in a hotel a few blocks away.

Thankfully, Turgon answered his phone. “Lindir, what’s up?”, he asked, his voice still sleepy.

Lindir could not fault him for it. Turgon was always the last one who went to sleep. “I have a problem. Of the more personal manner. Can we meet?”, he stammered.

A sigh was heard from the other side and some grumbling. “Fine. There’s a bakery halfway between your apartment and my hotel. In an hour alright?”

Lindir agreed. If anyone would be able to help him, it would be Turgon.

Lindir arrived a few minutes late at the bakery. Turgon was already there, sipping something from a big orange cup. The bakery was one of those painfully modern ones, with clean rectangular lines and garish colours. Whoever thought orange porcelain and green seats made a good combination, was definitely wrong.

“Do you want a coffee too?”, Turgon asked, yawning. “My treat.”

“Thanks”, Lindir said and meant it. At 3pm, his tour-manager looked like he had not slept in days.

Turgon waved for the waiter and let Lindir order a cappuccino with chocolate chips on top of the cream. Then the manager turned to the lead-singer. “What is your problem that required me to leave bed so early?”

“I developed a mark and I want to find the one who inspired it.”

Turgon looked at Lindir with something akin to shock in his eyes. Then the ellon pinched himself and took a long drink from his black coffee. “You developed a mark. When?”

“I saw it this morning for the first time. It is still a blob and has no distinct shape.”

Lindir saw Turgon do the math. “That leaves a window of the last seven days. Two concerts at which you could have met them. That’s worse than Tauriel’s.”

“I was able to narrow it down to the people at the meet-and-greet”, Lindir said. “Since then, I have not met new people. Please, Turgon, can you do something to help me find them?”

The tour-manager hid behind the orange cup again. “I can try, but I promise nothing. These are still sixty to seventy possible options and theses people are not traceable, because the tickets weren’t bound by name. I won’t be able to access their data, which leaves me with social media research. Oh how I hate that.”

“I cannot ask for more”, Lindir said in thanks. “Shall I try to find them over platforms such as missed-connections.mde?”

“I’d rather you not. It could endanger you, but I can ask Fingolfin what he thinks and get back to you. I can’t prohibit you from doing so though, just advise you.”

“It did not work out for Tauriel, I remember”, Lindir said. “I hope you are successful in finding them.”

“I try my best. Just tell me, when you can see what shape your mark takes, it could make my job easier.”


	4. Interlude I – New colour, new chance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments so far. From now on, I will try to update this story regularly.

Elrond did not notice the mark on his upper leg for days. He had been in the middle of the crowd at the concert and some people had bumped against him with force. He had assumed it to be just a bruise from one of these contacts. It did not hurt, so he ignored it. There were more important things to concentrate on, especially work.  
Elrond worked at a hospital as medical doctor. He had two fields he was proficient in, child-care and psychology. It sometimes came hand in hand, when heavily injured or traumatized children were brought in. The days following the concert were hectic. There were two emergencies, children having survived car-accidents, who needed his attention. As a result, Elrond barely slept. It was not a concerning problem, because with his half-elven physiology, he was able to function anyway.  
It led to him ignoring the ‘bruise’ for a few days though. On the morning of his free day, his eyes caught sight of it again, when he was changing into his comfortable clothes. Now, there was no question as to what it was any longer. It certainly was no bruise as he had originally thought.  
He sat back down on his bed.  
It was a new soul mark. He must have met someone who inspired it in him. Elrond looked at it closer. It was becoming stronger in colour and the shape was changing slowly. In a week from now, the mark would have settled into a motive, he knew.  
He had never expected or wanted to gain a new soul marking. His first bonded, his wife Celebrían had died six years ago because of cancer and he still missed her sometimes. He heard of others that had never gotten another mark after their beloved had passed away. Elrond had accepted the fate. This new mark now proved him wrong, but also posed a question. Would he search for the one who inspired the colour in him? He was not sure if he should. He had baggage, three children and was sometimes still in mourning for all the people he had lost. Also, there was the matter of where he had gotten his mark. At a huge concert. There was a big chance this was going to be a missed connection. With the way of the world, those had become more and more common.  
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.  
“Ada?”, Elladan asked from the other side. “Breakfast is ready.”  
“I’ll be down in a few minutes”, Elrond replied and finished dressing himself. He would think about this later some more, when he had some quiet.

Breakfast on his days off was always a glorious affair. His sons took it upon themselves to prepare everything, from the bread to freshly cooked eggs. Usually, Arwen would also help, but she was spending two weeks of her holidays with her grandparents in Lothlórien.  
“Good morning!”, Elrohir greeted him from his place on the table.  
Elrond smiled at his son. “Good morning to you too. I am glad you found your way home last night.”  
“Rúmil drove me here”, Elrohir declared.  
“I am glad your boyfriend is this responsible”, Elrond remarked. It was true, his son could have done worse with his marked one. They were dating and as far as Elrond knew, their marks were deepening every day. There was a chance Rúmil would one day become part of his family. The medical doctor had seen his son’s boyfriend only two times, but at both instances, the ellon had left a good impression. Hence, Elrond was not against the relationship that had grown over the past few months.  
Elladan was grumbling of course, because Elrohir spent now much time with Rúmil instead of him, but Elrond suspected this was in part only show. There had been some discussion about the concert, but that had also been resolved.  
“He’s perfect”, Elrohir stated.  
Elladan gagged for show.  
“Oh, shut up, one day you will find someone too, once you stop dreaming about that musicians all the time”, Elrohir snapped.  
Elladan threw him an undignified look. “If one of them would have been compatible with me, I would know by now, I have met them last week. Also, it is really only their music I enjoy.”  
Their father had to swallow hard. “And even if you would have gotten a mark on the concert, it still could have been someone from the audience”, he added.  
“Thank you, father, I know”, Elladan said sourly and drank from his juice.  
Elrohir did not comment and took a sip of his coffee.  
With this, the discussion seemed to be over for now. Elrond debated with himself, if he should tell his sons about the mark he got. Very fast, he decided against it. They would try to interfere and at the moment, he wasn’t sure if he should pursue it.

After breakfast, Elrond had some time for himself. His sons were upstairs in Elladan’s room, playing some video game. From time to time, he could hear them shout in indignation at the screen. Elrond smiled openly for a moment. He loved his children. With their nineteen years they were almost full grown adults now, both in their last year of standard schooling. In a few months, they would have to make the decision if they would go to university or not. Elrond had tried not to influence them in any way with this. Of course, he would like to see them as well studied peredhil one day, but it was not his choice to make. Elrohir had already expressed his interest in learning the trade of a teacher, whereas Elladan drifted more toward engineering. Elrond had never expected for his children to develop such different skills. On the other hand, he had made very different choices from his own twin too, so why should they be different? Hopefully it will bring them less emotional pain. Elrond made a mental note to visit his brother’s and Celebrían’s grave again soon. They are buried in the same graveyard, not next to each other, but in a similar section.  
His beloved wife had never deserved the cancer that took her in the end. Elros’ fate had also just been cruel. Elrond does not know if he can let someone else so close to his heart again. The mark was forcing him to think about this now and he hated it for this. No matter what he chose, he would loose in the end. If he did not at least try to make the connection, he would loose the chance. If he made the connection, he could loose his possible mate again.  
But maybe, maybe he should try to grasp this straw and see where it would lead him.

In the end, Elrond did what he had done with Elrohir, when his son’s mark had first appeared. They had talked about it and Elrohir had had no idea where he could have met his mate. So they signed his son up at missed-connections, adding a picture of the mark to their database. Thankfully, Rúmil had done the same and thus, the two were able to schedule a meeting to check if they were truly matched. So far, Elrond was not able to upload a picture of the mark, because it was not defined enough, but he started the process. He was even able to add a location where the mark possibly had occurred. Based on this program matched him immediately to four other people whose marks weren’t defined enough, but presumably got them at the concert too.


	5. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have fun with the new chapter!

On the second day after Lindir spoke with Turgon, the ellon decided to tell his band-mates. They were scheduled to go to an interview with a music magazine in the evening and would take a meal before at a restaurant. Turgon had arranged for this and it would be paid by their label.  
The restaurant was another one that served traditional meals. Apparently with their genre of music, they were always required to go to such establishments. Lindir was not ungrateful, he just wished for a bit more difference. Osgiliath was known for his Haradrim restaurants and he would have liked to visit one of them. Instead, they were driven to a Gondorian place. Well, Lindir supposed, it wasn’t an elvish place at least.  
They were given a room in the back, with enough space for all of them, including Glorfindel, who had accompanied them, at Erestor’s insistence. The Adviser had very strong opinions about such small things.  
“If I am to go to an interview on a day that has been previously deemed free of work, I can at least take my bonded partner with me to the meal beforehand.” Turgon had not even argued for long. By now, they had come to an understanding with their tour-manager about these things. They did their best to avoid publicity nightmares and he would in turn accept their private lives.  
So far, Turgon’s search for Lindir’s possible mate had gone without result. The three people he found over social that had developed marks at the concert had not been at the meet-and-greet afterwards. Lindir was beginning to loose hope.  
“I think I had a missed connection”, he told his fellow musicians between the main course and dessert.  
“When?”, Erestor asked.  
Tauriel grimaced. “My condolences”, she said.  
“At the concert last week, probably at the meet-and-greet.”  
“Do you have any idea who it might be?”, Legolas wanted to know.  
Lindir shook his head. “There is one that I remember I was interested in for a few moments, but more I do not remember. So far, the marked people Turgon found were not compatible to my mark.”  
“So you are hoping they are searching for you?”, Haldir asked. “Why are you not more proactive?”  
“I spoke with Turgon and he discouraged me from using websites, fearing for my privacy. You know, we are supposed to avoid media trouble.”  
“Fine”, Haldir sighed. “But you risk loosing the connection. For my youngest brother, using the internet had been helpful. He found his boyfriend through it.”  
Tauriel scoffed. “It did not help me. If your possible mate does not want to be found, you won’t find him”, she added.  
Lindir recoiled a bit. He knew how bitter Tauriel was about her missed connections, but this was a new stage. He looked at her. “I am sorry for your lost opportunities.”  
She turned her eyes to him. “That was cruel of me, I am sorry.”  
“I wish you the best of luck, Lindir”, Glorfindel said.

Lindir himself was debating if he should use the website and go behind Turgon’s back. So far, the tour-manager’s search had gone without a result.  
Thankfully, Lindir had to stop those musings, because the car arrived that would bring them to the building where the interview would be conducted.  
The building was not directly in the city centre, more in the outskirts of Osgiliath. On the way there, Lindir did not talk much with his fellow musicians. He was a bit mentally exhausted from telling them about his mark and the discussion afterwards. It was his first one, so he had still hope for the best.  
The city passed outside, not the beautiful old buildings from the old part of town, but modern office towers with reflecting facades out of glass and sharp angles everywhere. From a scientific point of view, Lindir knew like this, humans were able to built high and durable lodgings, but sometimes he missed the sight of organic patterns and stone. The glass and metal felt uninviting to him.  
The offices of the magazine were in such a tower however. The walls were painted a strange shade of white, but at least the journalist had made an effort of decoration. There were professionally done pictures of different artists on hanging from the ceiling. It felt like a gallery of the who is who of the rock and metal scene around the world. Most of the faces, Lindir knew. Surprisingly, there was an old picture of the Spirits of Fire, before three of their members left and others stepped into their places. The band had a contract at the same label as the Imladris Minstrels did, but in the metal division. The restructuring of them had once been a big scandal, also because they were almost as secretive about their private live as the Minstrels’. Lindir had not seen them in person yet, but he enjoyed their music. Especially Makalaurё, their song writer, was a genius. The content of their songs was similar to what the Minstrels’ sung about, old elven history and fantasy settings. The Spirits of Fire were highly regarded as Progressive Metal band, with high expectations placed on them.

“Welcome to the offices of Arda Cantelё”, a young hobbit had greeted them at the entrance of the building. He was obviously a secretary of some sort. He was the one who led them through the hallways.  
By now, he had brought them into a big conference room, with enough seats for everyone.  
Haldir let himself sink down. “I guess we switch to our stage names when talking to each other, correct?”  
Lindir nodded. It was the reasonable thing to do, journalists with their true names could be a real problem.  
Nobody disagreed. Erestor glanced at his watch, impatient. As far a Lindir knew, Erestor was a bit pissed off, because he had to leave Glorfindel behind, when the other had taken a few days of vacation to spend time together. The Adviser did not air his anger though, knowing full well which worth the privacy had.   
A knock on the door informed them the journalist was about to enter. The musicians stopped their silent conversation and turned towards the person entering. She wore a long black dress and leather bracelets around her wrists. Her blond her fell down in blond curls down her back, hiding her ears. From her stature, she could have been human or elf, or anything in between.  
“Good day”, she greeted them. “My name is Eowyn Rohaniel.”  
Lindir turned to Turgon. The journalist they were scheduled to meet had been of a different first name. The tour-manager just shrugged, he had no idea either.  
“Unfortunately my brother, who was scheduled to meet you today, had to go to the hospital, for his wife is giving birth to their first child. I am here in his stead”, she declared.  
“The best of wishes to the young one and the parents”, Haldir said, adapting quickly to the changed situation. “And thank you for stepping in on such short notice.”  
Eowyn smiled. “Thank you, Mister Greyelf. I will tell him.”  
She sat down on the other side of the table and smiled at them, her gaze directed more towards Lindir. “Are you ready to start the interview?”, she asked.  
“Yes”, Legolas answered for all of them. During interviews, he was the one who was quick with his answers. Lindir himself tended to think over every sentence thrice before speaking.  
Eowyn nodded and then held up a small device. “Do you mind if I record our conversation?”  
This was standard interviewing practice nowadays. It helped the journalist with writing their articles, without misquoting or such.  
Again, Legolas agreed first and Turgon seconded the decision.

Afterwards, the Minstrels agreed to split up again. Erestor was already on the phone with Glorfindel, discussing their further plans for the day. Lindir listened in with half an ear. They were deciding on a restaurant to eat at. Haldir and Legolas seemed to have similar plans. Maybe leaving the apartment for an evening would not be too bad, Lindir thought. He knew the two pairs could use some uninterrupted time alone for intimacy. In the bus, they held back with spectacular self-control.   
It left Lindir to either do something together with Tauriel or remain alone for the rest of the evening. Going with Tauriel seemed the more social method.  
“Hey, Tauriel, do you have plans for the evening?”, he asked her.  
She looked at him with mirth in her eyes. “I am certainly not staying in the apartment tonight. Haldir and Legolas will certainly not be quite when they return from their dinner.” She had listened in to the conversation too, obviously. “Do you have any plans?”  
“There’s a water and light show at the local fountain tonight that will last well into the night, maybe I will go there, after finding dinner somewhere.”  
She smiled. “I wanted to go to the small variag grill, where I ate on my vacation two years ago, if it still exists. The food was good there. If you want, we can add our plans together.”  
“I would like to”, Lindir said.

When they came back to the apartment that night, everything was quiet. The shoes at the door told Tauriel and Lindir that their band mates were in, but probably sleeping.  
She laughed silently. “They must have fallen asleep, probably very exhausted.”  
“Good guess”, Lindir agreed in whisper. “Do you want to get to the shower first?”  
“Nah, take your time”, she answered. “I will wait, you seem to be more tired than I am.”  
“Thank you”, Lindir said with gratitude in his voice. On tiptoes, he made his way to the bathroom, not trying not to disturb his band-mates in the process.


	6. The Article

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Interview, as written and edited by Eowyn Rohaniel

One day before the concert in Osgiliath, the interview with Eowyn at the office of Arda Cantelё was printed. The magazine came out every second week and their contribution had been last minute before printing had started. Lindir bought the magazine in a shop three streets down from the apartment. He was glad they had not agreed to pictures. As they came to understand, the mag had wanted them for the front cover at first, but thankfully Turgon had interfered on their behalf. Taking the pictures would have been a thing of minutes, but getting ready always took hours. So instead, there was a picture of the Spirits of Fire on the cover and the Logo of the Minstrels on the side.

It allowed Lindir to buy the magazine without having to fear recognition. Then he took the journal back to the apartment and opened it in his room.

Their interview was in the first half of thing, spread out over multiple pages. The script was in a cream colour, the background dark brown. The edges were decorated with swirls in elven style. There were pictures there, but the ones from their official band webpage. All in all, it gave a really tasteful impression.

Lindir began to read the full article.

With the Elven Folk Rock band Imladris Minstrels performing in Osgiliath on their summer tour this year, we have been able to spend some time with them. After last year’s release of their album ‘The Flight’, this is their second tour after it hitting the stores.

Interview by Eowyn Rohaniel (ER)

 **ER** : You have been on tour for three weeks now, so how are you faring?

 _Greenleaf_ : A bit exhausted, so we are all glad for the few days we had between concerts now.

 **ER** : Your concert in Osgiliath will be on Saturday, correct?

 _Greyelf_ : Yes, that is correct. We are already excited.

 _Archeress_ : We may have something special planned. (giggles)

 **ER** : Tell me more.

 _Adviser_ : Sorry, we can’t do that. It would spoil our fans.

 **Er** : Alright. You spoke of exhaustion, what do you do to relax and recharge?

 _Minstrel_ : I visited the old parts of Osgiliath, took some time for myself. The closeness in the bus can sometimes grate on one’s nerves.

 _Greenleaf_ : I agree. I am glad to not share the bus for a few days. No offence.

 _Archeress_ : Non taken. To answer your question, I personally sleep a lot, whereas Greyelf here (she points at the other) likes to visit parks.

 _Greyelf_ : I do. It is relaxing.

 **ER** : What are your further plans in music? Are there new songs planned?

 _Adviser_ : Our immediate plan is to finish this tour successfully, without injury or such. Afterwards, we will be on vacation for about a month.

 _Minstrel_ : New songs are already in the work, but a new release probably is still off for the next year or so.

 **ER** : As you are the one writing the songs, what will those be about?

 _Minstrel:_ I do not write them alone, often I get input from Greyelf, especially when working on the melodies. So far, I’ve been playing around with the histories of old Beleriand, but am not sure if I will use what came to mind so far.

 **ER** : So you have been inspired by your tour at the end of last year?

Minstrel: Yes. The historic parts of Gondolin, Mithrim and Himring were truly a sight so see.

The interview is not a full transcript of their conversation. Some questions have been edited out, mostly those they would not answer to, about their private lives. Eowyn had learned during their talk those were never going to be answered and had stopped prying.

All in all, Lindir is very happy with how the article turned out. His own answers do not sound as stupid on paper as he feared they would.

**ER** : What is your favourite song to sing, Mister Minstrel?

 _Minstrel_ : I quite enjoy ‘Doomed’. Taking the stance of the first High King, giving voice to what could have gone through his mind, is always a powerful way of connecting with the past. Of course, I never know, if this is the truth of what he felt, but it is nice to imagine. Also, the fans quite like it.

 _Archeress_ : It is my favourite song to play too. The rhythm is quite easy, but thundering.

 **ER** : And what are your favourites, Mister Greenleaf, Mister Greyelf?

 _Greyelf_ : It is hard to pick one out. I quite like the ‘Song of the Woods’ from our first CD.

 _Greenleaf_ : That would be mine, too.

One part of the interview had surprised Lindir. Apparently there were some nasty rumours going around about their relationship to other bands. This was of course no truth, but it was good to know. The truth was, the Imladris Minstrels had never before worked together with other groups, which came with their privacy. This stood in contrast to what others did.

 **ER** : There are rumours going around, the Minstrels and the Spirits of Fire have a small dispute going on. Is there truth to this?  
_Adviser_ : No. Despite being under the same label, we as artists have not had contact with the Spirits before. Therefore we certainly have no conflict with them. Why do you ask?

 **ER** : There has been information that there has been conflict about a spot as headliner at an upcoming festival.

 _Adviser:_ Nothing of the sort has happened. As far as I know, both our band and the Spirits are scheduled to perform at the next Minas-Festival. I truly hope to be able to meet them backstage there.

 **ER** : Thank you for the honesty. If you like each other, could there be a joined work between your bands? That would sound awesome.

 _Minstrel_ : It is a possibility, should they be interested. No promises though.

Later, Lindir had asked Turgon, whether there was some truth to Eowyn’s question. The answer had shocked him a bit.

“There was some tension, but is was mainly in the family”, Turgon had said. “Fingon, my elder brother, is the tour-manager for the Spirits of Fire. He was in negotiations with the organizers of the Minas-Festival, for some kind of special show, but kept it behind father’s back.”

Lindir was aware there was a bit of rivalry between Turgon and Fingon, but he knew not where it came from. Working was family was in this case not the easiest, it seemed. “And how did you resolve it?”

“Father decided whatever Fingon was doing was a good idea. That’s why the Spirits got the late-night headliner slot on the second day of the festival and you the earlier one on the first day, with visitation for the other two.”

“It’s not a bad deal”, Lindir had said. “I am not envious, those headliner concerts are always fun, but very exhausting.”

“What you said, about maybe working with them, is that truly a possibility?”, Turgon had wanted to know.

“Yes. But I want to wait until after the Minas-Festival at least.”

“That’s many months off”, Turgon had remarked.

Lindir had smiled. “Yes. Long after we will have made a decision about the contract.”

That night, the mark on Lindir’s chest took it’s final form. He traced the edges carefully, looking down on his skin. His reflection in the mirror did the same. It was strange, for it represented someone else’s influence on him, even if Lindir did not know the person. Emotionally, Lindir did not feel much different a person than he had been. Maybe it was foolish to think such thoughts, but he did anyway.

The form the mark had taken was an uncommon one. Most people had marks in organic shapes or depictions of animals. Lindir’s marking resembled an elven ornament. It was the third category of marks, usually assumed to indicate very high compatibility. The other person should not be too hard to find, but Turgon had been unsuccessful.

Suddenly, the door opened behind Lindir and Haldir came in.

“Oh”, the other ellon said. “I am sorry, I did not think you would be in here.” His eyes fixed on Lindir’s chest though.

The Minstrel sighed. “It’s okay.”

“Your mark has taken it’s full shape, right? Looks cool”, Haldir remarked.

Lindir nodded. “It has. But so far, I have been unable to find the one who inspired it.”

“I’m sorry to hear this”, Haldir answered and laid his hand on Lindir’s shoulder. “I wish you the best of luck, but could I use the bathroom now? I really do need to pee.”

“Oh, of course”, Lindir answered and grabbed his shirt. “I blocked the bathroom, right?”


	7. Interlude II – Elvish ornaments

Elrond showed the twins his mark on his own terms, after it became clear his possible partner was not registered at the website.  
“I got a new soul-mark”, Elrond said over breakfast. “I thought you should know.”  
Elrohir made a face and looked down at his plate. He still missed Celebrían very much. Elrond did too, but he had not choice in the creation in his own new mark.  
Elladan’s reaction was very different. “Really? That is cool! Can we see?”  
This, Elrond could deal with. Elrohir’s silence was disconcerting though. “Do you want to?”, he asked, this time directed at the younger one of the twins.  
Finally, Elrohir reacted. He seemed to breathe in. “If you are comfortable with me seeing it. I never showed you mine.”  
Elrond showed them the ornament on his upper leg.  
“That is really intricate”, Elladan remarked. “Your possible mate must be a very special person, to get such a mark.”  
Elrohir seemed impressed too. “That is of elven origin”, he said. “So in all likelihood, your intended is elven too.”  
“Do you know who it belongs to?”, Elladan inquired.  
Elrond shook his head. “I tried to find them via the internet, as we did when finding Rúmil, to no avail. He has probably no interest in the mark.”  
“Where did you get it, I mean most likely place?” Elrohir had his eyes fixed onto Elrond.  
“At the concert I went to with Elladan.”  
“The one of the Imladrim Minstrels?”, Elrohir asked, seemingly worried.  
Elrond nodded.  
“Oh”, his younger son sighed. “I think I have to go.” Elrohir stood up and ran from the room.  
“What’s up with him?”, Elladan asked. “I will go after him.”

The next few days were very hectic for Elrond, so he forgot about Elrohir’s strange behaviour over his revealing of the mark. He filed in his mind under not important. Especially because Elrohir appeared completely unburdened for these days. He was only a bit miffed because Rúmil was unable to meet up.  
At work, the children in his ward demanded most of his attention. There was one boy who had had a bike accident, falling into a fence guarded with barbed wire. The cuts had not been immediately life threatening, but he would have scars for the rest of his life. It brought up bitter memories for Elrond. One of his foster-parents had had his arms and torso streaked with similar marks. Maedhros had never told him where the scars had come from though. He and Maglor had been very silent about their pasts. Still, those two brothers had taken Elrond and Elros off the streets, after their first parents had left them. Unfortunately, from one day to the other, the authorities had come and taken them away, while the brothers had been out. Elrond and Elros had ended up with different forster parents for their later years, who encouraged them to pursue any career they liked. Elrond had ended up as a doctor and Elros had become a salesman, but he died. Later, Elrond had tried to find Maedhros and Maglor, to thank them for giving them their first home, but the two brothers had disappeared.  
Elromd changed the bandages of the boy himself, while his parents were watching quietly, stroking their son’s head. Especially the father had a distraught look on his face. According to the report, he had been with the boy when the accident had happened. To Elrond, they looked like a happy family and the wife did obviously not blame her husband for the accident. The boy himself was surprisingly calm throughout the encounter, even though his wounds must have stung.  
Instead, he was a bit chatty. “You have pointy ears, Mister Elrond”, he said.  
Elrond smiled. “I have a bit of elven heritage.”  
“That’s cool”, the boy exclaimed. “Mother read me old elven tales to sleep.”  
“That is very nice of your mother”, Elrond replied.  
“I wish I could be as cool as the elves were, but now..”, the boy said and looked at his arms.  
“Let me tell you a secret”, Elrond said. “No matter how you look, it does not define who you are inside.” He place a hand on his own heart and the other on the boy’s shoulder. “You can be as courageous as the first elves were and nobody will care that you are human.”  
“Thank you Mister Elrond”, the child said. Elrond was really surprised of how polite the boy was. Other children he had worked with had lashed out or been demeaning. The half-elf smiled at the parents and went to his next patient.

“I have a confession to make”, Elrohir said, another two days later at dinner. “I have spoken with Rúmil about your mark, Ada.”  
Elrond smiled. If he had done the same with Elrohir’s mark, his son would have taken a long time to come around. He himself did not care overly much. “You are forgiven, my son. But you would not have told me, if it isn’t important to you.”  
Elrohir actually blushed. “I have been quiet about a lot of things and am sorry about this.” He turned to Elladan. “Especially from you, I have hidden something.”  
Elladan grimaced. “I knew it.”  
“Peace, let Elrohir speak”, Elrond interfered.  
“To make the story short, Rúmil might have an idea who your possible mate may be.”  
This required a longer explanation that Elrohir was unwilling to give. He wanted to introduce his boyfriend Rúmil to the family and let him explain how they reached that conclusion. Elladan gathered from it that Rúmil must have some kind of connection to the Imladrim Minstrels, which made him forgive Elrohir for his quiet attitude almost immediately.  
“Am I allowed to bring Rúmil here, Ada? I would understand if you said no.”  
Elrond had met the other ellon once before and would not prohibit his introduction to the family. His and Elrohir’s relationship was progressing favourably after all. Denying this would be unreasonable. “Of course Rúmil is welcome”, Elrond answered. “Just tell me, does he have any allergies I have to take into account when preparing a welcome-to-the-family-dinner?”

Rúmil came over four days later. Elrond himself was a bit nervous. This meeting would not only introduce Rúmil to Elladan, but also probably reveal who his possible mate could be. Elrohir’s reluctance to tell more made sense, if Elladan’s theory about some connection to the Imladrim Minstrels turned out to be true.  
It led Elrond to conduct an internet research about the band. After all, his possible mate could be one of them. He remembered well the few words he exchanged with the singer, called the Minstrel. Surfing did not reveal many things. The artists were extremely quiet about their personal lives. Almost nothing could be gathered from the interviews that were online. On the official webpage of the band, there were short descriptions of the band members a few words to their musical history. Only two members spoke of being bonded, the one called Greyelf and the Adviser. Based on this, Elrond ruled them out, this left the three others.  
He shook his head about the insanity. He had no proof of one of them being his possible mate. This spree just proved to him that he was obviously interested in getting to know this person.

The meeting Rúmil came sooner than Elrond was prepared for. He arrived home a bit late after his shift and found Elrohir nervously waiting in the kitchen. His younger son had already prepared some things for the food that was planned for that evening, which showed Elrond how anxious his child really was.  
“I was worried you would come late”, Elrohir greeted him. “I already cut the vegetables for the meal you planned.”  
Elrond raised an eyebrow. This was a new development. Elrohir usually avoided the kitchen at all costs. “Thank you.” The older ellon was truly grateful. Without the help, getting the dinner ready in time would have been a bit of a struggle.  
A quick look into the freezer revealed carefully cut red peppers and tomatoes. The onions Elrohir did not touch, but that was fine. They would have lost too much of their flavour if cut beforehand. The further vegetables were arranged in small bowls, ready for use.  
“You did good”, Elrond praised his son.  
Elrohir flushed a bit. “Don’t get used to it.” Elrond would only dream about that.  
Instead, he went upstairs to his own bedroom and changed into more comfortable clothes. It would not do to cook in his travelling clothes he used to get to the hospital and back home. Elrond chose a loose fitting tunic with embroideries. He had his peculiarities with clothing. These modern iterations of traditional elven tunics suited him well, at least that had been Celebrían’s opinion. He had kept to buying them.  
Back in the kitchen, Elrohir seemed to disapprove of his choice, but did not comment on it. Elrond just smiled at his son who shook his head.  
“Is something amiss, Elrohir?”, he asked to provoke his child into speaking.  
The younger ellon just sighed. “Nothing. Just, the tunic, really?”  
“Do I need to impress Rúmil?”  
“No!”, Elrohir protested. “He will be alright.”  
“See.” Elrond had never really understood the need of today’s society to conform to certain norms. He still clung to some standards he grew up with. In the house with Maedhros and Maglor, wearing tunics had been the normal. The erasing of elven cultural habits in the last few years had grated on Elrond’s nerves and worried him. Yes, humans were the majority of the population, but their disrespectful way of treating other cultures was disconcerting. Elrond had always tended to feel more elven, so this was hurtful in a way. Maybe also because he had not much contact with other elves, who were tight communities in most cases. Rúmil for example lived with the elves in the Golden Park District. Outsiders were not really welcome underneath the trees there, for fear of disturbance.  
Dinner was almost ready when a knock on the door spurned Elrohir into action. Elrond let him go, greet his partner. There was no need for him to oversee the welcome. From upstairs, Elladan’s footsteps could be heard. He would be coming down too in a few seconds. Elrond shut off the stove and placed the pan on the table. He had prepared some omelettes and a vegetable filling for them. He took the omelettes out of the oven and placed one on each of the tables. Then he put the filling on it and rolled it close.  
Rúmil came in when Elrond was turned with his back to the door.  
“Ada?”, Elrohir said. “I hope you remember Rúmil?”  
“Greetings, Doctor Elrond”, the ashen-haired young ellon said.  
“Hello Rúmil. It is good to see you again”, Elrond replied. “And please, Elrond is enough, we are with family here.”  
“Thank you”, the polite guest answered.

Dinner went over without a hitch. Elladan accepted Rúmil very easily, based on their similar taste in music. Elrohir did not talk overly much, but he never did. He was the quieter of the twins. Elrond mainly just listened. By this, he got to know that Rúmil had a brother, but the ellon refused to name him yet.  
After the plates were cleared, Elrond took his courage and started the conversation that would have to be had.  
“Elrohir said you may know who my possible mate could be”, Elrond said.  
Silence was all that answered for a few moments. Elrohir barely breathed and Elladan watched with interest as his brother turned an interesting shade of blue.  
Rúmil took the question surprisingly well. “Yes. My brother told me, one of his friends who had been at the concert, had gotten his mark there. He saw the mark and described it as elven ornament.”  
“Which alone would make it a possible match with yours”, Elrohir said.  
“The problem is, if his mark is matching yours, meeting him would be a bit complicated. He has already left the city.”  
Elladan rolled his eyes. “And the name of this possible mate is?”  
Rúmil bit his tongue. “I am not allowed to say his name. I only talked with my brother, but he could not give me permission. You may know him as the Minstrel, leading voice of the Imladrim Minstrels.”  
“Wait? Greyelf is your brother?!”, Elladan exclaimed and then turned to Elrohir. “And you kept this from me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a connection!  
> Also, you may have realized I made this into a series. The additional stories give glimpses into the past of the band.  
> Thank you for reading!


	8. Word of Mouth

It was the day of the concert in Osgiliath. Lindir was ready for the show, after the days of vacation they had been allowed to have. The last day had passed in a hurry, because Turgon had wanted to make some changes to the stage-setup. When the manager had told them why, the Imladrim Minstrels were excited. Somehow, they had gotten permission to use so pyrotechnics in the show, so to place them strategically on stage, some items had to move place.  
By now, every little problem had been resolved and even the authorities had given their final okay. Lindir found it all very confusing, but did not protest. Fire wasn’t his favourite element, especially on stage it was a hazard. But Turgon had gone through a lot to arrange this and it would give them good press, something that was written down in the contract. Also, the pictures that came out of the concerts with pyrotechnics were amazing. Only Haldir grumbled again, but this was more an effect of his choice of outfit.  
Legolas just looked at his mate with hunger in his eyes and Lindir averted his gaze. By being in close proximity with the couple over the duration of the tour, he had unwillingly learned about some of their preferences. Legolas, for example, had developed a massive armor kink and almost jumped his partner after most concerts. Only the presence of the team kept them in check. Lindir always just shook his head. Armor was after all a hassle to get off, he could not imagine it being practical. Well, anyway, he wouldn’t know.

The show went off with a bang, to one of their fastest and loudest songs. The audience went with it from the beginning. The fire made the whole thing even more sweat inducing than normal concerts, but also very worth it. The audience reacted with much more enthusiasm. Still, Lindir was glad when everything was over and his stage-clothes had no burnt in new extras. That had actually happened once, shortly before the end of a show, when the sparkly stuff had descended. This kind of pyrotechnics the band now refused, also to not damage their stage decoration. Much was made out of material that could be damaged by fire.

When Lindir came back to the bus after the show, Haldir was having a phone call and he sounded very agitated. His face showed something akin to surprise, but also worry.  
“I hope you know what you were doing”, Haldir said. “It could compromise us.”  
He remained silent for a while while the person on the other end was speaking.  
Then Haldir replied: “I will tell him, but I can’t promise he will agree to anything.” He fixed his eyes on Lindir during these words and the singer got the feeling they were talking about him. It was a bit disconcerting.   
Lindir stepped over to the fridge and got himself something to drink. At least tonight, they weren’t required to make another appearance. There would be no meet-and-greet or after-show that night. Lindir grabbed the first bottle that he reached, something without too much alcohol. It was some kind of beer-mix. It tasted not too bad. He would have preferred some mead, but Legolas had taken the last of their reserves. They had already asked Turgon for more, but it would take a few days to replenish the stores.

A few minutes later, Haldir sat down beside Lindir. They were the only two of their band currently in the bus. The other three were still in the concert hall, talking with some of the crew.  
“That was my youngest brother”, Haldir declared. “He has some news that should interest you.”  
Lindir took a sip of his drink. “Rúmil, right?”, he asked. “How does he fare”  
Haldir grimaced. “Fine, especially since he is dating another ellon. Who he told about us and your mark. That is my fault, for I told him in return. I am sorry, I thought he would keep quiet.”  
Lindir shrugged. “It would have been hard to keep the connection to us a secret for long. And my mark is hardly a secret in the band. As long as Rúmil’s mate did not snitch to some gossip mag, were fine.”  
“He would never!”, Haldir exclaimed. Then he calmed down and drank from his own drink. “But as it is, the brother of the mate is a fan”, here Haldir made a break and looked out of the window, “and he was at the meet-and-greet in Eregion with their father. Who now bears a mark similar to yours.”  
In his exhaustion, Lindir was unable to find the excitement this statement should induce in him. It has been more than a week and his own search had not giving him a clue. Rúmil’s hunch seemed to good to be true.  
“How do you want to proceed?”, asked Haldir. “I mean, it could truly be your possible mate he found.”  
“Did he tell you more?”  
“The name of the peredhel is Elrond and it is his second mark. Rúmil estimated his age around sixty sun years. Apparently he reacted favourably to the idea of you being his mate.”  
Lindir nodded. “I do not know what to do”, he confessed. “I would like to meet him, but with our schedule – did Rúmil tell you what his profession is his?”  
“A doctor, working in a hospital.”  
The singer swallowed. “That does make it more complicated.”  
“You should just check if your marks are the same. Nowadays, everyone owns a mobile phone.”  
“Do you think Rúmil would agree to play messenger?”, Lindir asked, this time hopeful. Making the decision to seek contact was not hard.  
Haldir grinned. “I think he would be honoured to do you.”

He does not stay up much longer. The show had exhausted him and sleep was starting to claim him. Haldir was not very talkative either. He almost never was after a concert. Actually, the ellon fell asleep against Lindir’s shoulder. Lindir was not so cruel as to leave him, but he wasn’t strong enough to lift the bassist up. Thankfully, Legolas returned soon after, with Tauriel and Turgon. Where Erestor was, none of them knew. Probably using the last minutes with Glorfindel in a productive way. The bus was scheduled to leave in two hours. The next station on their tour would be Minas Ithil. Legolas put a chaste kiss on Haldir’s forehead and then carefully lifted the heavy ellon up, carrying him to his bunk. To Lindir’s surprise, Legolas climbed in there too and pulled the curtains closed.  
Tauriel just raised her shoulders in a helpless gesture and climbed into her own bed.  
Lindir followed shortly after. He had no intention of staying up longer. Erestor would come eventually and it was not his job to watch out over everyone. Turgon was the one who had to wait.  
He put the now empty bottle in the rack where it was supposed to go and walked the few steps to his own bunk on the lower row. It was small, as all of them were. At least there was a small light installed, a socket and a shelf. It was enough for Lindir. He connected his phone to the charger and put the device on the shelf. He closed the curtains and added his earplugs. Sometimes the traffic could be distracting, even at night.

Lindir woke once in the night, but only for a short time. The gentle movement of the vehicle lulled him back to sleep. He dreamt of the future, side by side with someone. In the morning, he was not able to recall much of the dream, only that it left him feeling calm and collected.  
The bus was still on the road. The distance between Osgiliath and Dol Amroth was a spectacular five-hundred kilometres. The city would be the farthest point south on their southern summer tour. In winter, they were already booked to tour the northern lands belonging to Beleriand. The trip had been estimated to last at least six hours, but somewhere there must have been a congestion. It was still eighty more kilometres till they would reach the outer parts of the city. Lindir must have slept through the trouble on the road.  
He went to the miniature bathroom and relieved himself. It was not the most pleasant experience to awake on the road. Lindir always was glad when they already reached their destination before he opened his eyes. Unfortunately, fate had not been on his side.  
Leaving the bathroom, he almost collided with Erestor. The Adviser must have come back to the bus after Lindir had already fallen asleep. The ellon looked like Lindir felt, completely exhausted. There were dark rings underneath Erestor’s eyes, telling Lindir how badly the night must have been for his friend. He once told the Minstrel, how easy he slept beside his mate and how torturous it was to have to leave again.  
Erestor did not talk at all and sidestepped Lindir, to reach the bathroom himself. Otherwise, the bus was silent. Haldir, Legolas and Tauriel were still asleep. From Tauriel’s bunk, a slight snoring could be heard, the other two were silent. Only Turgon was awake, sitting in the common area, drinking coffee. Lindir would not be able to fall asleep again, so he sat down beside the manager.  
“Did you at least sleep well?”, Turgon asked, indicating with his head towards the bathroom.  
Lindir just nodded. “I would have preferred to wake in Dol Amroth though. And don’t be to harsh with Erestor, you know how bad he sleeps without Glorfindel.”  
“I know. I do not like being almost killed by his gaze in the evening.”  
“He has a reason to be miffed then”, Lindir said, he had been wondering. In general, Erestor made more words than none. Turgon must have cut his time with Glorfindel short the evening before, which would explain the sombre mood.  
“I wish we could take Glorfindel with us”, Turgon sighed. “It would make the whole experience much more pleasant.”  
Lindir grimaced. He did not know much about the reason why the company Glorfindel worked at was not their main supplier for stage technique anymore. “You could just hire him and be done with Erestor’s mood-swings and the empty space for a technician in one go.”  
“I should think about that, but again, Ada has the final say, as always.”  
Outside, the centre of Dol Amroth appeared in the distance. The main part of the historic city was located on an old plateau, which had been formed by rivers and erosion. It was only to be reached by a steep path and elevators. On the ground level, there was a ring of gardens around the rock. Living too close was dangerous, because sometimes still rocks fell down, even if most of it was being secured by nets out of wire. All around the old city, many people had settled. It was an amalgamation of different cultures. The concert would be held in the sports stadium of the city. Lindir did not enjoy performing in those. The acoustic was never acceptable and the seats on the sides were not made for watching a stage instead of a game. Also, in the case of bad weather, the people on the grass would get wet. Unfortunately, Dol Amroth had no concert hall that rock bands could play in. It made the city completely unsuitable for a stop in winter, so they tried to add them to their summer schedule.  
“Do you have a schedule for tonight?”, Lindir asked.  
Turgon nodded. “You should maybe start asking for that sooner, one day you’re going to forget.”  
“Ha ha. I don’t particularly care, as long as I am out on stage at the correct time.”  
“And it is my job to remind you of everything beforehand.”  
“Unfortunately”, Lindir grumbled. “Do you want to make sign autographs again?”  
“No official meet-and-greet stuff is planned, but it would be awesome if at the end you could at least sign some autographs for the fans in the first row. We got a call from the security at the location already. They have first-row-campers at this time of the morning.”  
“Idiots”, Lindir groused.  
With the rise of their popularity, this was happening more often, the fans camping in front of the location, just to get into the first row. Lindir did not understand this idiocy. Being in the first row was hardly something pleasant, he knew from his own experience. It was the point where the pressure from the people behind one accumulated. It was potentially harmful to be pressed against the metal bars of the fence. People had been injured there before. Unfortunately, there had not been found a better solution to keep the crazy people off stage and keep the security people safe too. 

They arrived at the sports arena almost two hours later than planned, with Lindir being only awake for the last hour of the drive. Turgon was correct, there were campers outside. Of course, the term ‘camper’ did not mean they arrived with tents or such. Only that these fans waited for long hours for the concert, mostly beginning at the break of dawn. They came in groups and often had much food with them. Thankfully, they let the bus pass without much issues. The inside of the arena was already filled with their crew. The stage had almost been fully erected. This would be the biggest concert on their tours to date. They had many fans in Dol Amroth. Lindir did not understand why, because the city was far away from their home area, where all of them had started as musicians. They also visited this city not that often. That was the only explanation for the extremely high ticket sales. Of course, they would not fill the arena. Only half of the greenery would be filled by the audience and a few rows on the side. They were not that popular as the artists of current pop-culture.  
Turgon took it upon himself to wake the other members of the Imladrim Minstrels. Tauriel just ignored him for a while, while Legolas and Haldir rolled out of their bunk in the attempt to disentangle. Lindir did not even laugh, he had seen this hilarious scene too often before.  
Turgon just sighed. “Well, you are awake. In thirty minutes, it is your turn to built your set-up and place everything where you want it to go. I suggest you get your coffee before that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sure if I will be able to update next week, so please be patient.


	9. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I switched the update for this story to mondays. It fits better into my schedule for the upcoming weeks.  
> Also, I added another story to this 'verse, about Haldir and Legolas, should you wish to check it out.  
> Have fun reading the first conversation between Lindir and Elrond!

They had decided to bring out the harp for this concert. Mostly, they left the songs that required the instrument off their set-list. Lindir loved playing it, but it took forever to get the many strings into perfect harmony. Anything less than perfect, he would not accept. Most fans would probably not recognize the dissonance, but Lindir cared. It was a bit of perfectionism and his band-members sometimes mocked him for it. Still, tonight, he would make the effort for the two songs that required it. One would be the opener, a bit about the peace of Valinor. The harp-intro at the beginning was much beloved, but could be avoided. It set a good atmosphere at open-air events though, so for those they opted to play it. The Minas-Festival at the beginning of autumn would be interesting, because the organizers wanted them to use the harp and they had agreed. The thirty minutes they would have for setting up the stage would be a record, if they managed to pull it off.  
Dol Amroth was relaxed in comparison. They had enough time to get everything in order, even with Tauriel sleeping longer than usual. When she finally joined the rest of the band, she bore the marks of a bad night. Her eyes were painted with deep rings. Later, Lindir took her aside to talk to her.  
“Bad night?”, he asked.  
Tauriel only nodded.  
“Dreams?”  
Again, she confirmed. “About the usual.”  
Lindir laid a hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry.”  
“Don’t be. It is not your fault I can’t get what I wish for.”  
There was no way for Lindir to comfort her. She would not accept his well intentions. He had recently gotten a mark and now good chances at finding his mate. Tauriel wished for a loving relationship and a faithful mate, but had had two missed connections so far and no luck. Any words from Lindir would only be acid to her emotional upheaval. His own luck had probably been the trigger for her depressed mood this morning.  
At the meeting before the soundcheck, Lindir brought her some strong coffee with hazelnut syrup and a shot of espresso, her favourite. She took the drink gratefully and smiled at him.

Soundcheck was a dreadful thing as ever. Especially tuning the large harp took forever. Usually Lindir preferred his smaller one, which he could lift. Turgon had persuaded him to use the concert harp though. It had a bigger range it could cover. Depending on which harp was used, Lindir was able to play different versions of the intros to some of their songs. It did not change the fact it was a lot of work. He would also have to control the tuning shortly before the concert again. Depending on the temperature and humidity it was possible for the strings to loosen or tighten minimally, changing the sound from harmonic to abysmal, at least to Lindir’s ears. Turgon, who had less an ear for such details always claimed it sounded good still.

In the early hours of the evening, Haldir came to Lindir with news. “The mark matches”, he said. “I just got word from Rúmil.”  
Lindir, who was in the process of covering his stage microphone with ivy leaves, was confused for a moment. When the sentence fully registered, he let his hands sink down. “Truly?”, he asked. He let the leftovers of the leaves fall to the floor. They were fake, unfortunately, because it would not do to kill a plant every time they walked on stage.  
Haldir just smiled and waved his mobile phone in front of the harpist’s face. He calmed down and opened a picture, sent by Rúmil in a chat. Lindir stared at the image before him. It showed the upper part of a leg, on which the same mark blossomed as on Lindir’s chest. The same vines, the same ornaments.  
Lindir’s breath halted for a moment. “It matches”, he whispered. His eyes began to water. It was such luck he was blessed with. He had found his possible mate, he would be able to contact them.  
Haldir smirked. “It does. So, what will you do?”  
That was the big question, wasn’t it? Considering their celebrity status, he had to be careful. “I kind of would like to start with a text message or phone call with the ellon”, Lindir said. “Unfortunately, I have to talk with Turgon if he approves using my private cell phone.”  
The one called Greyelf nodded in understanding. “Do that. Also, Rúmil gave me Elrond’s phone number.”  
“Elrond”, Lindir repeated with a steady voice. He had heard the name in conversation before, but this was the first time he spoke the name with the knowledge it belonged to his possible mate.  
“You should call him”, Haldir said. “Best before the concert starts, lest you’re worrying about it the whole night.”  
Lindir remembered his promise to Turgon too well. “I have to ask our manager, if he is alright with me calling some phone number. You know, I do not want to risk a publicity disaster.”  
“Then go to him, I finish the decorations here. Turgon is at the bar, discussing something with the tech people, he’s not hard to miss.”  
With this, Haldir gave Lindir a little push into the right direction. The Minstrel had no other choice than to go, as his band-mate had given him no out.  
Again, the bar was impressive, if one cared for such things. Most hard liquors Lindir avoided. In this moment, he would have liked some liquid dis-inhibitor, but he refrained because he needed a clear mind. If not for the call, then for the stage.  
Turgon was standing with two technicians at the high table and was discussing something, a folder open in front of them. Apparently he was giving them some stern orders, because they looked sheepish.  
“Turgon?”, Lindir interrupted, aware of how impolite he was being.  
“Ah, Lindir”, the dark haired ellon just said and shuffled a bit to the side. “What do you need?” The voice Turgon was using was pure business, not really conductive for sensitive conversation.  
“I have a request, but I do not want to discuss this publicly.”  
“Fine”, Turgon said and turned back at the technicians. “You know what to do, so please do it.” The two guys went away with haste. “Is this private enough or do we need to go backstage?”, the manager asked.  
Lindir looked around. There was no bartender yet, so nobody was close enough to listen. “This will do. I found the one who has the same mark I do and I would like to call him on his phone.”  
“You found them?”, Turgon asked. “Might I know how? My channels did not yield any results, I am curious.”  
“It is the father of Haldir’s brother’s marked one and somehow the word travelled.”  
Turgon shook his head. “Bested by mere chance”, he grumbled. “Fine, call that mate of yours, I have another problem to solve.”  
Lindir swallowed down his anxiety and left Turgon to his business. Something had riled up the tour-manager and it was best to stay out of the ellon’s way when he was in this mood.

The paper was already crumbled from the unsteady handling Lindir had subjected it to. Thankfully, the number was still easy to read. From the display of his phone, the numbers shone brightly and the green button to start the call was looming ominously about. Almost Lindir lost his courage. What if his mate did not want him? What if everything went to shit?  
Lindir took out his earphones and plugged them into the slot, it would help him understanding what the person he was calling would say. He had experience with calls in busy areas. With the crowd now filling the hall, the noise level had risen quite a bit, even in the most secluded areas backstage. He did not want to risk not understanding his possible mate.  
He looked away and pressed the call button. The line beeped for a few seconds until the tired voice of an ellon came on.  
“Elrond Peredhel here, who is speaking?”  
Lindir blushed. The voice was as soothing as he remembered it to be. “Lindir is my name”, he said, internally cursing himself a bit for his outdated phrasing. “We met at the concert of my band, the Imladrim Minstrels, some time ago. I think we could be mates.”  
“The Minstrel, right?”  
“This is my title, yes. But my true name is Lindir.”  
A happy sigh came from the other end of the line. “Hello Lindir. It is a pleasure to finally talk to you again.”  
“The pleasure is all mine”, Lindir answered and blushed. Never before had he given out his name and heard it repeated like this. It made him a bit tingly inside.  
“So, what are you doing right now?”, Elrond asked. “I am unsure how one starts a conversation with a mate over the phone.”  
Lindir grinned. “I think you are doing alright”, he said. “Although I can’t claim to have any knowledge on the matter. To answer your question, I am in preparation for tonight’s show.”  
“Is it going to be as big as the one in Eregion?”, Elrond wanted to know.  
“No, the venue is not as big, or at least we have not sold as many tickets as in Eregion. Every concert is big compared to what we started out with though.”  
“How did you start? I never researched the history of your band.”  
“It isn’t my band, Greyelf and Greenleaf were the ones who founded the Imladrim Minstrels”, Lindir told him. “The history isn’t interesting though, pretty standard if you ask me. We started very small, with only one to five small concerts a year.”  
“This sounds like an impressive evolution”, Elrond replied.  
Lindir nodded to himself. “It’s been crazy. Sometimes I can’t believe it. What do you do for a living?”  
“I work as a doctor in a hospital, currently on the children’s ward.”  
A doctor. His mark was truly for a doctor. Lindir would have never thought to be connected to a medical professional, because he always hated going to doctors because of the smell in most hospitals and clinics. The disinfectant did just not agree with his nose. “This impressive too”, Lindir said. “Although I have to say, I never felt comfortable going to a hospital.”  
Elrond chuckled a bit. “It is quite different to visit and to work there. I was never comfortable as visitor either.”  
Lindir was thankful his possible mate did not ask why he disliked hospitals. It was not a story for a first call about a soulmark.  
“So, how was your day, before I called?”, Lindir asked instead.


	10. Interlude III – The first duet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter as experienced by Elrond - Enjoy!

In the morning, Elrond came into the kitchen to a prepared breakfast and Rúmil sitting at the table. The older ellon just raised his eyebrows and made himself some coffee. The expression of Rúmil’s face had told him enough.

“Where is Elrohir?”, Elrond asked. He knew Rúmil had stayed the night, because he had invited him. Somewhen, the guest had woken Elrond with some heated late-night conversation over the phone, which Elrond had greatly disliked. He had not interfered, because he caught some words which let him conclude the discussion had been about his mark.

“Asleep still”, Rúmil answered. “I am sorry for probably waking you last night, I had a late night call with my brother.”

“I guessed as much.”

“Okay. He said they would need proof, preferably in form of a picture of your mark. With their delicate celebrity status it’s always so complicated to do such things.”

Elrond had expected as much. He had no qualms about sharing his mark. He knew, for some people it was a touchy subject, either because of cultural norms or personal preference. As a doctor, he had seen many marks. Also, he had registered with the website, which had been useless in hindsight, which required a description of the mark. “I can send you a picture to share with your brother and the Minstrel”, Elrond said.

Rúmil’s eyes lit up. “That would be highly appreciated”, he answered with relief.

Sending the picture to Lindir was no big deal. Elrond had already two more or less passable pictures on his phone. They had been taken for his profile on the website, but now they proved their worth in an unexpected way.

Elrond had to leave for work before any of his sons even woke. Elladan and Elrohir were not ones for early mornings. As students at the Eregion University, they had no courses at these times. It was all a bit unfair, but soon enough, they would be working ungodly hours too, well probably. Elrond wished his times nobody else and he was one of the luckier ones. As doctor for children, he did not have to do many night-shifts, only if one of his co-workers was ill. He still had the few advantages granted to him for caring about his children.

This did not mean the day shift was easy. It was hard work, mentally and physically exhausting. Many of the children on his ward had serious illnesses. The few that did not, children who had broken bones because of some accident, were often changing. They healed faster than adults, but also they were louder and required constant stimulation. Almost like his own sons, but they were old enough to find fun themselves. The children on his watch were confined to the sterile hospital rooms. They needed care and courage. This day was no different. They had three new patients, one of them an elven boy who had broken his leg, falling from a tree. The family was in this case very concerned for their son and Elrond had to keep them from almost running into the room where the surgeons were fixing the leg.

It did not help Elrond was feeling on edge for the whole day. He checked his phone more often than usual, in the fear of missing his possible mate’s call. It made him jumpy every time his pager pinged, too. His co-workers regarded him with amusement, but nobody asked about the circumstances. Elrond was glad for it. It had been hard in the first months after Celebrían’s death, everyone had constantly worried and asked about his feelings. Now it seemed they were content with knowing he was halfway happy, sensing his unrest did not originate in something unpleasant. He was unable to find much rest, with his mind constantly wandering to the upcoming call he was expecting. Certainly the chain of information must take it’s time and the musicians’ timetable differed greatly from the one of a doctor. He would wait.

And then the telephone rang, an unknown number was calling.

“This was my day so far”, Elrond said. “Nothing too fancy and to be frank, I am tired after the shift in the hospital.”

“Oh. I am sorry for keeping you awake”, Lindir said.

Elrond chuckled. The younger ellon sounded truly nervous. “Don’t be”, he said. “I truly enjoy our conversation. Where are you tonight?”

“Dol Amroth”, Lindir answered. “The show starts in an hour, that’s why there is so much noise in the background, the location is slowly filling up.”

“You travelled quite a long way since Eregion”, Elrond said. A quick calculation in his head revealed the band must have driven several hundred kilometres every day to get that far. “For how long will you be on tour?”

“Only Minas Tirith and Edoras are left this summer, in a week’s time, I can get finally home to Eregion.”

“So you are from Eregion?”, Elrond asked. This was exciting. He could have met Lindir in the streets and not.. been the wiser.

Lindir chuckled. “Yes, but on the outskirts. In fact, all of the band have their home somewhere in the city.”

“Elladan is going to explode if this is coming to his knowledge!”, Elrond laughed.

Lindir groaned. “Please don’t. Right now, we all enjoy our anonymity, as fragile as it is.”

“I fully understand”, Elrond answered. “I won’t tell him. Do you want to meet up when you are back?”

An enthusiastic response told Elrond, that yes, his possible mate was very interested in meeting again.

After the phone call, Elrond needed a few moments for himself. He went into the living room and sat down onto the couch. He laid his feet upon the seat beside him and closed his eyes. The conversation had indeed gone well. From the talk alone, Elrond was beginning to understand his possible mate better. Also he had the suspicion Lindir was a kind and thoughtful person. Well, he had gathered as much from the songs he had the other heard sing, but this new confirmation gave him hope.

After Celebrían had died, Elrond had long doubted he would ever find another love. His wife had told him she would bless every relationship he would enter. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with her departure. Her death had come a shock to the whole family, who had thought her cancer beat, when she fell ill again. This new blooming feelings were almost more than Elrond could take, but at the same time he was basking in the warmth starting to grown within him.

He would have to be honest with Lindir from the beginning.  Their road would not be an easy one. It never was when finding a second partner  and Elrond had to consider his children. So far, both Elladan and Elrohir had been supportive, but Arwen did not know yet about her Ada receiving a new mark. She was fifteen now, old enough to know about the markings of the skin, but too young to understand every implication of it. She had been nine when Celebrían had died and she sometimes still cried because she missed her mother.  She stayed with Galadriel and Celeborn, her grandparents often, listening to her grandmother tell stories of Celebrían’s youth.  Yes, it was uncertain how Arwen would react.  Sometimes Elrond wished she could have met the other two elves that could be considered her grandparents, but Elrond had lost the contact to his long-time foster parents through circumstances beyond his control  forty years ago.  He assumed they were  still alive, with their elven lifespan of at least four hundred years it was a safe bet.  Where they dwelled, he would very much like to know.

I n a few days, Arwen would return from her visit at Galadriel’s house. It would be enough time to talk to her in person about his new mark  and his possible mate.  He hoped her response would not be a negative one.

“Have you spoken with the Minstrel?”, Ellladan asked as soon as he entered the door after sundown. Elrohir was not with him, but Elrond was well past worrying. His second son had written him a message, he would be staying with Rúmil for the night. Somehow, Elrond suspected it was out of politeness, because his son’s mate probably already knew about the call.

“Good evening to you too”, he greeted his son from the kitchen.

Elladan entered the room and looked at his father. “You have”, he stated and Elrond was speechless. He knew Elladan had a gift for reading people, this was just another stage of it, but surprising nevertheless.

“Yes, I have spoken with him”, Elrond told his son. “He is quite the polite ellon.”

Elladan rolled his eyes at the uncovered side-eye his father was giving him. “Fine, I won’t ask much. How did it go.”

“Positive”, Elrond said. “He will be coming to Eregion in a week, so we can meet.”

“Are you excited?”

“Of course I am a bit nervous”, Elrond told his son. “I think everyone would be.”

“Will I meet him one day?”

Elrond had no answer to this question. “This depends if we try for a connection or not. I do not know how his position is on the topic, I won’t force him into anything.”

“He is a fool if he doesn’t want to be with you”, Ellandan replied with a heated voice. “You are quite the catch.”

The older ellon sighed. “’Dan, I am hardly a catch. I have a lot of bad history, two sons, a job that keeps me away for long hours and also a past marriage. These are not the most conductive conditions to start dating.”

“But you are open to dating, which says a lot”, Elladan argued. “This should count a lot.”

“Let’s not get ahead of yourself”, Elrond said. “Not everything is as easy as those romantic comedies make it seem.”

“I know. Still, I am happy for you. Also, did he make you promise to hide his true name?”, Elladan asked. “Because I think it will become awkward if we talk about him using his pseudonym.”

“He did not ask such a thing of me, no”, Elrond still. “But I won’t tell you, it is his decision. You will have to wait until you meet him.”

“You are such a spoil”, Elladan sighed. “And here I thought I could get some good information out of you.”

“Sorry, no such luck. But as you are already here, you can help me set the table.”

“You waited for this, did you?”, Elladan asked, but he relented and went to the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sidenote: Is there a pairing name for Haldir x Legolas? Otherwise I decree it to be Legaldir, because you can't forbid me from hinting at them xD


	11. Chapter 11

The concert in Dol Amroth went over quite easily and no special drama occurred. Afterwards they hurried to the bus, they had another long travel ahead. Lindir slept through most of it and woke when they had already arrived in Minas Tirith.

It was a cold day, but the sun was shining. Somehow the climate in the upper districts of the city was always fresh in summer, at least when they visited. The Imladrim Minstrels would be in Minas Tirith twice this year. Once now, in the early months of the summer and the second time would be their performance at the Minas Festival, on the plains in front of the city. It was the biggest metal festival in Middle-Earth and already all the tickets were sold.

By now, the work before a concert had become standard to Lindir. He tuned his instruments, this time the small harp and did warm up his voice in a desolated room. He tried to phone Elrond, but his mate was working and had only a few minutes for him. Lindir understood well. Their schedules did not match at all, but soon they would be able to meet.

After Minas Tirith, only Edoras would remain and afterwards they were free. Well, as free as one can be within the bounds of a contract. There would always be time spent drafting new songs and writing music. Weeks in a studio. But for a while, Lindir would not have to do any of these things. For at least a month, it would be like vacation to him, his stay in Eregion. He missed his flat more than a bit by now. The one week they had vacation had been a blessing, but by now all relaxation Lindir had gained had flown away. The long nights and the bus had made sure of it.

The concert in Minas Tirith went by without much of a problem and Lindir fell asleep almost immediately after it. This night, they would not travel. They would be able to spend some hours in the city, before driving out to Edoras the following afternoon. Lindir knew the concert in Edoras would be an exhausting one. The last concerts of the tour always were. For Edoras, the location called ‘The Golden Hall’ would be filled to the brim with the audience and the show would involve all instruments and a fire show. On top of all that, another meet-and-greet had been scheduled by Turgon. It would take place before the concert, which was relief. Afterwards Lindir wished to celebrate with his friends a bit, before they would part for the next few weeks until it was time to practice again. Legolas and Haldir wished to travel a bit without the added stress of the tour and Erestor had planned some time with Glorfindel. Tauriel had kept quiet about her plans and Lindir had forgotten to ask her.

He was so tired, he wasn’t even able to call Elrond again, but he had not promised to. They both had agreed to meet as soon as Lindir was back in Eregion and felt good enough for it. Depending on their schedules, maybe they would phone again, but not this night.

Instead, Lindir  dreamed good for once this night. It may have been a side-effect of the bus not carrying them across the land this time. In his dreams, Lindir felt warm and cared for, something he had not experienced in the last years much. The closest he had come were the evenings with his friends in the band, spent taking and being merry. The warmth of deepest feelings was something he longed for. He hoped this wish would come true. As every other elf, he knew there were ill matched markings, where despite the compatibility no feelings beside animosity flared between the paired ones. Lindir had no scale to measure his feelings against, but he believed himself to already feel attachment to Elrond.

Lindir did not care much for the show. By now, it had almost become routine again. The screaming of the fans and the blaring of their music. Somehow Lindir was glad the tour was coming to it’s end. They all had been on the road long enough.

In the heat of the summer, they would perform at the biggest festival of the continent and the next tour would already start in winter. The break in between would become interesting for Lindir. With this in mind, the concert went by quickly.

“That’s it”, Erestor sighed as he put away his rhythmic guitar.

“Finally”, Tauriel agreed, throwing two shredded drumsticks into the dumpster. “I was getting so fed up with sleeping in the bus.”

Haldir just nodded. “Only one night left”, he said.

They would be travelling to Eregion throughout the night. None of them would sleep, probably. Turgon had promised them a small celebration before they parted ways again. Lindir was fine with this. The trip to Eregion would take some hours and some of them would be every drunk by the end of it.

“Before we can celebrate, we have to go to that meet-and-greet”, Haldir reminded them.

“Thanks for the reminder.” Tauriel rolled her eyes. “The bane of our existence.”

“They are not that bad”, Lindir argued, but only half-heartedly. He did not like these events, but after meeting Elrond through it, his opinion had softened a bit.

“You’re biased.” At least there was humour in Haldir’s voice.

Tauriel did not comment further.

Thankfully, the meet-and-greet passed quickly. The fans were equally tired after the show and passed through quickly. Turgon had at least been so gracious and made this one an exclusive event for twenty people. The last one had been a blessing for Lindir, but the sheer number of people had been too much. At least he would be able to move his joints without aches after this one.

Afterwards, they did not linger at the bar as they usually did. This time, they had agreed to meet in the bus as soon as possible, to get on the way to Eregion. The stage hands had done an amazing job, cleaning the stage quickly of the last equipment and loading everything onto the bus and the small transporter. They were almost ready to go. Lindir glanced upwards, to the sky. No, some stars were twinkling there, but some shining cloud formations were starting to cover them. Despite it being early summer, this night would be a colder one. He looked at the illuminated bus front, the footsteps of his friends behind him.

“Hey Erestor, I brought you someone!”, Turgon shouted outside the bus as they were entering. Lindir was currently staring at their guitarists arse, because the dark haired ellon was in front of him on the stairs. Erestor turned around and Lindir took a step back. A bit annoyed, he turned around too.

In almost the same moment, Erestor was pushing him aside and Lindir was shoved against the handrail. It hurt a bit and he was halfway through protesting, when he finally saw why Turgon had made such a ruckus. There was a golden haired ellon with him.

“Glorfindel!”, Erestor exclaimed happily.

Lindir nodded to the bondmate of his friend and turned back towards the bus. Inside, there was already high life. Haldir and Legolas had their chosen drinks in front of them and there was a bottle of mead for Lindir.

“Did you know Turgon brought Glorfindel in?”, he asked no-one in particular.

Tauriel shook her head. “Lovely. This sitting area is going to be crowded.”

“Astute observation”, said Glorfindel behind Lindir. Erestor was directly behind him. “I think we should share.”

Lindir just raised his eyebrows as Glorfindel sat down and Erestor was pulled onto the lap of the golden haired ellon. These two were sometimes a bit more saccharine than Haldir and Legolas.

“So, what’s the plan for the night?”

Turgon rolled his eyes. “Getting you all to Eregion, preferably all in best health.”

“This was what I was thinking”, Lindir answered with a smile on his lips.

“But honestly, you’re going to be dropped off at your homes, starting with Erestor and Glorfindel.”

“I guess I am the last one then?”, Lindir asked. It was not really a question. They lived all in different parts of the city, Erestor and Glorfindel farthest from the minstrel’s home. Their small studio and rehearsal room were near the centre of Eregion, easy to reach for all of them.

The closer the bus came to Eregion, the worse the weather got. It changed from mild to rainy. The sound of the raindrops could be heard on the roof of the vehicle. Lindir, who was already tired, almost got lulled to sleep by the sound, but he kept his eyes open. His mead could have some influence and the talking of his friends.

By the time they reached the house of Glorfindel, Erestor was asleep in his mate’s arms. Lindir watched as the golden haired ellon refused to wake his exhausted love. Instead, he carried Erestor off the bus and out into the dark and rainy night of Eregion.

In the end, Turgon and Lindir were the only ones left.

“What happened with the rumours regarding the Spirits of Fire?”, Lindir asked. “It was a topic in the interview, I remember.”

“I had an interesting phone call with my brother Fingon about this”, Turgon said and sighed. “He has no idea how this rumour came to be. Probably some social media kid had too much time and searched for connections were none are. It’s not dying, unfortunately.” At Lindir’s disturbed gaze, he added: “The rumour, not the kid.”

“Can we do something about it?”

“At the moment, not really. Your reaction at the interview with Miss Rohaniel was genuine at least. The Spirits will have an interview with her in a month or two, so hopefully the rumours will have died down until then.”

“It’s giving you headaches.”

“It does. I hate not being able to do anything about such nonsense.”

“By the way, how is your relationship with Fingon?”, Lindir asked. “You once talked about him… not favourably.”

Turgon took a swig of his drink. “We had our differences in the past.”

Lindir raised an eyebrow. “Differences?”

“I did not get on well with his mate.”

“And now?”

“We’re fine. Don’t talk much though.”

“Is this going to be an issue, should we be confronted by the rumours again?”, Lindir wanted to know.

“No”, Turgon promised.


	12. Home in Eregion

Lindir took the last step out of the bus. It was raining on the edge of Eregion and his house lay in the morning light. The bus driver helped him carry his bags to the door. Lindir opened and the guy carried the bags into the hallway. The minstrel thanked his helper.

A few minutes later he was alone. The bus was driving down the street, the sound slowly disappearing. Instead of going to bed, he let himself sink into one of his seats in his dark living room. He did not care for the bags in his hallway, they would be there still when he would wake up in the morning.

His phone chimed and Lindir opened his eyes again. He had actually fallen asleep in the seat. It must have been the exhaustion and the alcohol.

_Was your travel a good one?_ The message from Elrond asked.

Instead of typing out an answer, Lindir pressed the call button.

Elrond answered almost immediately. “Hello Lindir. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You did”, the minstrel groaned.

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. I was sleeping in a shitty place.”

“A chair?”

“How did you know?”

Elrond chuckled. “I doubt you would have fallen asleep standing or on the floor.”

“You’re right”, Lindir grumbled. “What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock in the morning. I’m having my first break at work now.”

“Shit. I’ve been sleeping here for three hours.”

“You arrived around seven?”, Elrond inquired.

Lindir nodded, until he remembered his possible mate would not be able to see it. “Yeah”, he yawned. “T’was a long night.”

“I guess you celebrated a bit, right?”

“Yes. It’s kind of a ritual by now, staying awake on the trip home. Makes falling into one’s own bed heavenly.”

“I can imagine”, Elrond answered. “How are you feeling?”

“Still tired”, Lindir confessed.

“Then I won’t keep you awake much longer.”

Lindir groaned. “Please wait. This conversation is..” He sighed. “Do you want to meet up soon?”

“I would love to”, Elrond said. “Do you know a good location you would be comfortable at?”

Oh, yes. The stupid stuff about being famous. Lindir shook his head slightly. “I know a place. It’s a small coffee-place called the Green Garden.”

“Never heard of it”, Elrond declared. “Where is it?”

“A bit on the outskirts of the city. If that’s alright with you?”

“Of course.”

“When are you free?”

Elrond sighed. “My shift ends at twelve, but I don’t think I can leave immediately. Would three o’clock in the afternoon suit you, it’s a coffee date, right?”

“Sounds wonderful.”

Lindir dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom after the call had ended. The few steps felt too long, but the sight of his bed, promising warmth and comfort, soothed him. He was so tired, he did not even panic much about his upcoming date with Elrond in two, well one-and-a-half days. Lindir let himself fall down upon the blankets and pressed his face into the pillow. It was not a very comfortable position to sleep in. He spent the next few precious seconds with struggling like a fish on land, trying to get underneath the blankets. Exhausting seconds later, the cover finally covered him. Now on his side, Lindir let his eyes fall shut.

Only a few hours later, he woke up again. It was still raining outside and the water was running down his windows. A silent trickling of the water could be heard. Lindir’s alarm clock told him it was midday. His belly grumbled and supported this assessment.

Lindir climbed out of his bed, almost pulling the blanket off. He still was tired, but if he went back to sleep now, he would not get his rhythm back to normal.

The walk to the fridge was always an interesting one after the tour. Lindir never knew what the service stocking it would add to it. Sometimes it was truly abhorring, but this time, he was pleasantly surprised. Either Turgon had changed the service provider, or they had gotten a list from the manager. The last time, it had been filled with long lasting frozen foods, but this time, there was an acceptable amount of fresh vegetables. This pleased Lindir. Still, he wasn’t in the mood for cooking right now. He grabbed a yoghurt and sat down at his kitchen table an.d dug in. It settled his stomach a bit. The alcohol the night before had not done him any favours.

Of course, there were some things he had to do. For example sorting up his stuff. Right now, the bags were still in the entrance hallway. They could not remain there and at least two of them contained worn clothing desperately in need of a wash. Sighing, Lindir dragged himself up and got to work. The first day after a tour was never glorious.

Later, when the sun began to set, Lindir found some time for cooking. He was not really good at it, but it needed to be done. His stomach sometimes had problems with certain additives in frozen foods, so he preferred freshly made things. His kitchen faced towards the west and he watched the clouds outside. It wasn’t raining anymore and the clouds were dark blobs dipped in red by the sunset. The day was almost over.

The morning of the next day passed in a hurry, because Lindir overslept. Well, not much, but it was still enough to send him almost running around his already clean flat to make sure he did not overlook anything. He had no idea how the date would go, so he was preparing. Logically he knew Elrond would not be able to come over, but the one percent chance was still too much.

Looking at his closet, Lindir was lost. He owned many clothes, but he did not know which to pick for his date. He had never been on a date before, obviously. The many possibilities overwhelmed him a bit.

A look outside told him it wasn’t raining anymore. The sun was shining through some small cracks between the dark clouds. They were travelling fast, so maybe taking an umbrella would be a good idea. He added it to his mental list of things to take with him. The weather told him to dress for intermediate temperatures, so a long-sleeved shirt it should be. Should he wear one of his modern tunics? At least it would help Elrond in recognizing him. Lindir had worn his stage outfit the first time they had met. On the other hand, not many elves still wore tunics these days, so he would risk tipping of some fans. Which was a thing to avoid at a date.

In the end, Lindir decided upon a long-sleeved black shirt, a simple trouser of the same colour and a beanie to hide his hair under. This was unfortunately necessary.

Lindir arrived at the coffee shop early. He asked the barista for a table for two and was led to a vacant place near a window. The Minstrel had chosen the venue on purpose and for several reasons. The first was, the windows were tinted. Onlookers from the outside were not able to see much of what was going on inside. Secondly, the tables were divided by high pots with plants. It created the illusion of separate spaces and privacy. It always felt a bit like sitting in a jungle. With the band, he had visited the place twice so far, for their brainstorming sessions when thinking about new songs.

“Can I bring you something?”, the waiter asked.

Lindir nodded. “A water would be great for a start.”

The human nodded and made a note on a small pad. “Something else?”

“Not yet, I am waiting for a friend.”

Again, the waiter nodded and then he left. Lindir leaned back and took his beanie off. His hair fell down over his shoulders and he combed it lazily with his fingers until it was smooth again. Keeping it pressed to his head for long never felt good and he was glad to let it fall again. Sometimes he detested the fame he had gathered.

“Sorry for being a bit late”, a voice said suddenly and Lindir recognized it to be Elrond. He turned away from the window and looked at his possible mate. He looked handsome, even with the small rueful smile on his lips.

“Oh, you’re right on time”, Linidir said. Which wasn’t even a lie. It was only five minutes after three, something most people would not even have thought about apologizing for. The minstrel stood up and offered a small bow. “I am glad you were able to meet me today.”

“It is my pleasure”, Elrond said and bowed his head a bit. “Let’s sit down”, he suggested.


	13. Verse I – The Green Garden

Elladan came strolling down into the kitchen, a smile on his lips. This and the fact it was early in the morning, told Elrond his son was having something on his mind. Either a particularly not-funny prank or some other mischief. There was no other explanation for his son to be up at this time of the day.

Without even a ‘good morning’, Elladan began speaking. “Have you written Lindir a message yet?”

Elrond carefully chewed his bun and then raised his eyebrows. “Why should I?”

His son actually rolled his eyes. “Because the Imladrim Minstrels finished their tour last night. You should congratulate him.”

Was Elrond mistaken, or was his son trying to give him relationship advice? His son who had next to no experience in such matters. “Ah, yes, I am aware they had their last concert for this tour in Edoras last night.”

“And?”

“Nothing. I suspect he might need at least a day to relax.”

E lladan shook his head. “You should write him.”  And then the young one turned around and went back to his room. Elrond just stared at the retreating back of his son and wondered when the boy had became so invested in his romantic life.

T he idea in itself was not a bad one, Elrond had to admit.  He knew the Minstrels had planned to drive back to Eregion during the night, this much Lindir had disclosed. By any chance, they should be home by now.  Sighing, Elrond took up his phone and wrote a short note to Lindir.  Maybe the singer would wake up and smile at it.

_Was your travel a good one?_

Much to Elrond’s surprise, his phone began ringing only a minute later.

Even though he had planned in enough time, Elrond ended up a bit in a hurry. The shift at the hospital had taken longer than expected, leaving him with not much to prepare for the first date. A date. Elrond could hardly remember the last time he had been so excited meeting someone new. New was probably not the right word, he had met Lindir once before. Which did not make things much better. His possible mate was a celebrity and Elrond was uncertain how he should feel about this. For now, he feared getting caught in some kind of publicity scandal, even though it was unlikely. Lindir’s band was not mainstream after all, but very well known in the elvish folk community.

At home, Elrond jumped under the shower immediately to get the sweat and smell of hospital out of his skin. Thankfully both Elladan and Elrohir were not at home pestering him. They would have immediately picked up his frizzled mood.

At least choosing some clothes was easy. Elrond took out a modern style tunic from his closet, coloured a nice shade of blue. At the top it a few buttons, which the ellon left unbuttoned.

He arrived at the Green Garden a few minutes late. When he stepped through the door of the place, he was surprised at how green everything was. The coffee-place really did it’s name proud. Everywhere Elrond looked, there were plants. It was an ordered jungle. He did not see Lindir, but with all the leaves in the way, it was hard to see anyone. It offered some privacy, but made it hard to find someone. Slowly, Elrond went from table to table, glancing at the patrons. It took him some minutes to find the Minstrel, but finally he saw him sitting near the windows. The ellon was looking at the people passing down the street outside, a glass of water nearly full in front of him.

“Sorry for being a bit late”, Elrond excused himself in a hushed whisper.

Lindir reacted as if he had shouted. He turned around quickly. Once he calmed down, the minstrel smiled a bit and nodded. “Oh, you’re right on time”, he said and stood up. He even bowed a bit, which was a refreshing take on a greeting. “I am glad you were able to meet me today.”

“It is my pleasure”, Elrond replied and tried to return the bow. It felt awkward to him, maybe because he was unused to such courtesies. “Let’s sit down”, he suggested.

The waiter came over after Elrond had studied the menu for a few minutes. The café offered a surprising variety of vegan options, he noted. He kept this in mind, maybe he would visit the place with Arwen one day. She preferred vegan options, opposed to her brothers.

Lindir ordered a coffee and a muffin (not one of the vegan options, telling Elrond something about the broader options for places to visit at another date).  Elrond himself followed his possible mate’s example and chose one of the muffins too, a delicious looking treat with raspberries and crumbles.

“How was your day?”, Elrond asked as they waited for their chosen treats.

“Fine. I slept a lot”, Lindir answered.

“I am sure you needed it.”

“Yeah, the last days were quite eventful”, Lindir agreed. “Unfortunately my stomach started to grumble, so I had to leave my bed. I made myself some rice and steamed vegetables.”

“Do you like to cook?”

Lindir looked aside. “Not  really . I’m not  particularly good at it. ”

E lrond nodded. He himself liked to prepare meals for his family, but before he had met Celebrían he had been lost at the stove. She had insisted he had to learn, for their children at least.

“I’m okay with making cakes”, Lindir interrupted his thoughts.

Elrond smiled, picturing the long haired ellon in front of him with an apron, hands whitened by flour. “Which kind do you like best?”

“Lemon cake. It’s easy to do. Do you cook or bake?”

“I do the cooking for my children most days. Otherwise they would just eat fast food, which I am opposed to.”

“Risk of the job, huh?”, Lindir joked and Elrond laughed a little.

“Yes. Especially Elladan like to complain about it.”

T he waiter arrived with their food and drinks. They placed the plates and pots down and left with a nod. Neither Lindir nor Elrond paid them any mind.

The conversation shifted a bit and Elrond found himself thoroughly enjoying listening to Lindir. The minstrel had a pleasing voice even when talking and he spoke of how the Imladrim Minstrels came to be.

“...And there I was, never having expected to be part of a rock band, suddenly the lead singer for one.”

“Sounds to me like Erestor had planned this all along”, Elrond mused. “I mean…”

“Of course he did”, Lindir agreed. “And I am thankful for it, even if it is a stressful life. I doubt yours is much calmer, right?”

The question was open ended, Elrond realized this. He was glad his possible mate was so considerate, leaving him the option to switch to lighter topics. For a first date, their conversation held many heavy topics. On the other hand, neither of them was young anymore and some of the easiness had fled with the years.  So Elrond took up the offer and told Lindir about his job at the hospital. He glossed over some of the sad details, of loosing patients and instead told of the happier cases.

“You love your job”, Lindir remarked after a few minutes of careful listening.

Elrond nodded. “I do.”

“I love mine too. Through it’s up and downs.”

A nd the elder shared the sentiment very much.

“Do you want to take a walk?”, Elrond asked. “When I drove here, I passed by a small park.”

“Gladly”, Lindir answered and smiled. His smile was very cute, at least in Elrond’s humble opinion. At first, he had imagined the lead singer of the Imladrim Minstrels to be a serious person, as he appeared on stage. Now, he was rather sweet and a bit shy.

Lindir waved the waiter over and paid for them both, without asking. Elrond felt a bit dumbstruck, but he thanked his mate. He would then pay for their food the next time. The older ellon stood up and helped Lindir with the coat the singer had with him. With eyes wide open, Elrond watched as the artist took up his long hair and stuffed it artfully underneath a beanie.

When Lindir met Elrond’s gaze, he spoke softly: “For privacy’s sake. With my long hair, I get recognized too often for my taste.”

“Oh”, Elrond said at the verification of his thoughts about Lindir’s status as a celebrity.

“On my way here I have managed to remain anonymous. It should stay that way, I think.” Then the singer looked at Elrond. “It is not my decision to make. If you are uncomfortable with the possibility I may be recognized by fans, we can go somewhere else.”

Elrond shook his head, making the decision Lindir was asking him for. He had had enough time to think it over. Yes, Elrond was not particularly happy about the media circus that could potentially follow, but he was also not prepared to loose Lindir over something so trivial. “Nah. If my son is anything to go by, I do not fear your fans. The only thing I am a bit worried about is the media.”

Lindir nodded in understanding. “So far, the media have not bothered us, I mean the band, in this regard. We never talk about our private lives. Nobody knows for example, of Legolas and Haldir mating. And this happened a long time ago.”

“Don’t let Elladan hear this”, Elrond chuckled. “I fear he would fall unconscious at that revelation.”

“I doubt it”, Lindir snorted.

Together, they left the Green Garden.


	14. A Walk in the Park (This conversation is not)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the companion piece for last weeks drawing of Elrond: Lindir with a beanie.

More art of Lindir I got from [Leyan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leyan/pseuds/Leyan), the first one to ever sent an [artwork](https://imgur.com/gallery/LUO3x61) to me! Look at it, it's sooo beautiful! Thank you soo much!

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The park was truly close. Just two streets over and they were there. Lindir looked at the green space nestled between to blocks with generosity. It was a welcome light amidst all the grey buildings. The trees were old and some if them, Lindir was sure, had seen the times when only the historic centre of Eregion had stood. Now, there were only the trees left, no bushes as had been usual in this region. The space underneath the oaks had been converted into a grass area for people to sit upon or have a picknick.

“Tell me more about your sons”, Lindir asked. He was curious about the children of Elrond, who the other had mentioned. As far as Lindir knew, the younger one, Elrohir, was to thank for making the connection.

Elrond lit up at the mentioning of his children. “I have a daughter too.”

“Oh. What’s her name?” Lindir had not known there was a young lady in the household. Elrond had not spoken of her, at least as far as he could remember.

“Arwen.”

“You haven’t mentioned her before?”

Elrond nodded. “She’s currently with her grandparents and missed the whole excitement about my new mark. She will come back in a few days.”

“So she doesn’t know?”

“No yet. I asked Elladan and Elrohir to keep quiet. I need to tell her myself.”

“Do you think Arwen will react badly?”, Lindir asked. He did not wish to cause distress within Elrond’s family.

“I do not know. She is fifteen and misses her mother very much.”

Lindir was aware his mate had had a wife, but he did not know what had happened. He was also afraid to ask, for he did not wish to intrude on a potential trauma. He had never heard about a mated couple parting in good ways. The minstrel had the bad feeling the mother of Elrond’s children was deceased.

“Celebrían, my wife, died six years ago.”

“I am sorry”, Lindir said, and he truly was. Elrond’s pained face made it clear it had not been an easy time for the whole family.

“She had cancer.”

“Thank you for sharing this with me. I guess Arwen was very young.”

“Eleven.” For anyone with elven blood, this was really only a fraction of their lives. Lindir was still considered not old. The general life expectancy of elves was up to four hundred years. Right now, the minstrel could not even imagine living this long. Maybe this was, why many faded before reaching this age.

“On which day will Arwen come back?” It was Tuesday.

“On Friday”, Elrond told Lindir.

Lindir was under no illusion. How their relationship progressed depended in large in Elrond’s family. He had always to consider his children, not like Lindir, who had no family anymore other than his band.

“No matter how Arwen reacts, I would like to see you more often”, Elrond declared.

Lindir felt awed. This he had not expected so early in their courtship. “I would like this as well.” He noticed his beanie was a bit slipping, and he corrected it, until it sat perfectly behind his ears again. It was his favourite way of wearing this piece of clothing.

“What was your best experience during your last tour?”, Elrond asked as they were walking down a path grown in on both sides by old oak trees. Their leaves were green and their bark of a rich colour. Lindir enjoyed walking among these watchers that had seen so much history.

Lindir smiled at the question. “The two days off in Osgiliath. I went to the old city centre, which has some beautiful old mannish architecture. Buildings made out of thick stone blocks. It is so different from the elven style.”

“So you enjoy visiting historic places?” Elrond had posed this as a question, an approach Lindir liked immediately. His mate was not assuming, he was asking.

“Yes, obviously”, the minstrel replied with a grin. “I make a living singing about old elven history and mythology, being interested in other cultures is helping much.”

“Who writes the texts for your songs?”

“Mostly me or Erestor. Once or twice Haldir and Legolas have pitched something. Tauriel is mostly happy with what we produce, she’s more the person for figuring out the rhythm of a piece.”

“You seem to have some good dynamics within the band.”

“We have. Otherwise it would not be possible for us to spend so much time together in cramped spaces.”

“Multiple ones?”, Elrond asked jokingly with a raised eyebrow.

“The studio and the practice room are not much bigger than the tour bus.”

They passed by a small fountain decorated with a long haired elven musician playing a flute. Some children were playing in the water. Elrond watched them with fondness and Lindir watched him.

“Did you share the bus during those days off in Osgiliath?”, Elrond asked curious and disbelieving.

Lindir shook his head. “Nope, thanks to all that is holy. We would gone crazy, especially with Erestor’s mate joining us for those days. We got holiday apartments, to everyone’s relief.”

“Ah”, Elrond said. “I hope I am not prying too much…”

“Nope, it’s fine”, Lindir appeased his mate. “I take your curiosity for what it is. I would be the last one to deny my lifestyle is unusual.”

Elrond smiled a bit. “It’s certainly intriguing.”

The golden hour came and surprised both Elrond and Lindir. They had talked for a long while, enjoying their walk in the park. The day would not last forever though, so they agreed to end their date and schedule anther one soon.

Lindir of course understood why Elrond could not stay for much longer. The ellon had two sons to take care of and an exhausting job. Lindir accompanied him to where the other had parked his car. There they said goodbye.

As planned, Lindir went home alone. He was very happy and felt positive about the date. Elrond had been amazing and gentle. His stance on Lindir’s celebrity status was also something the minstrel was comfortable with. The older ellon had hardly mentioned it, only at the possibility of being recognized by fans. Elrond’s concerns were understandable. It was something Lindir himself sometimes worried about. The journalists they had worked with so far had been mindful of their limits, but there were other, not nice people out there. Lindir remembered darkly the coverage around the break of the Spirits of Fire. The media had hounded they members they could locate for weeks. Being a celebrity had it’s downsides, even if the Imladrim Minstrels were only a genre name so far. During the last tour though, Lindir had identified some fans as more of the mainstream audience. It remained to be seen how this would play out one day.

For now, he had not much to worry about. The next two weeks were basically vacation for all of them. No meetings, no practice, no talk about new songs. Lindir had some ideas on his mind, but they were not fleshed out. Maybe he would try out a few melodies on his harp in the next days, maybe not. For Lindir, creating music heavily relied on his moods. Also, he knew his friends would not think about performing now. Erestor and Glorfindel deserved their break. For them, touring was always something they dreaded because of the separation. There had been talk of giving the blonde ellon a permanent job as sound technician for the band. The last time they had talked about it, Glorfindel had rejected the offer for reasons unknown. Erestor had just told Turgon no.

At least Legolas and Haldir were happy, touring together.

How would it play out for Lindir and Elrond when the Minstrels went on tour again? In the summer, they would be able to find out. Or maybe Lindir could invite his mate to the Minas Festival?

With uneasy thoughts, Lindir fell asleep.

The morning came with another call from Elrond.

“Did you make it home without problem last night?”

“I did”, Lindir answered. “Twice I think I got recognized by fans on the way, but they did not stop me, just stared.”

“I am glad.”

“Do you think we could meet up again soon?”, Lindir said with hope in his heart. Elrond had been very positive about this before, maybe they could see each other once again, before Arwen came home. In Lindir’s humble opinion, much depended on her reaction still.

“Of course”, Elrond answered excited. “Let it be my treat this time.”

Such a request Lindir did of course not deny and he was very surprised when Elrond sent him an address and a menu a bit later, so he could look at the choices and see if the place was alright for him. Lindir was very pleased to see there were many vegetarian options the restaurant Elrond had chosen offered. Somehow the older ellon must have guessed Lindir’s preferences or he was just considerate. Lindir could hardly wait the two days until their next date on Thursday.


	15. The Second Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My greatest thanks and kudos to yaboiCelsius, who made some art for this fic! Thank you <3

On Wednesday, Lindir spent some time tuning and playing his harp, just to keep in practice. For a few moments he contemplated singing a few songs too, but he did not feel like it. He knew he had to do so soon, just to keep his voice in shape. It was an instrument like any other, but still the most important thing in their band. Keeping the regimen was not always easy for Lindir. He had started out with singing lessons for fun, never thinking something would come of it. Now the sound of his voice rose in popularity.

He used the day to take care of his house again. Especially the laundry had to be done, he had not been able to put everything from the tour into the washing machine. The clean-up after the tour was always strenuous and took long. Lindir was glad he had not to care for his stage clothes. Those were in Turgon’s hands and he would give them to the dry-cleaners. Of course Lindir owned at least three old robes which he did not wear on stages anymore. Two of them were from their second tour, which had gone splendidly and was a fond memory. The two robes Lindir had sewn himself, for getting them done had been too expensive. These days, thankfully, money mattered less. Still, he kept those two out of sentimental reasons. They were by no means perfect, but dear to him. The other robe he had in his closet, he sometimes wore still when he was practising on his own and had problems with finding the correct head space.

Like on this day. A bit later, Lindir went up to his closet and got the old robe out. By now, it had already lost some of it’s colour, but he loved it still. His friends found him a bit strange from time to time, when he showed up with this piece of clothing at their studio. At least Haldir kept quiet, he wore an armour on stage after all, so he could not joke. The fabric felt good against Lindir’s skin and he went to his music room and got his big concert harp out. It would take a lot of tuning until it could be played, but in the end, it would be worth it.

No new melody or song came to Lindir, but he enjoyed the old tunes he played.

On Thursday morning, Lindir awoke already excited. Of course he would have to finish his chores first. The laundry was day by now and needed to be sorted into the closet again. The tour was over after all. The summer festival in Minas Tirith would come and afterwards the tour in winter, but both of these events were still ways off.

Around the mid of the day, he prepared himself for the evening. He took a long bath, soaking himself in the gentle scent of trees. Afterwards, he washed his hair carefully. He almost regretted it already to have to stuff it underneath the beanie again, but at least it would be clean. The inevitable tangles from the treatment were a bit of a shame. Without aid, he was unfortunately not able to braid his hair as beautifully as he had it on stage.

Of course he could not wear any of his robes out to the date, this would have been ridiculous. But he had noticed the restaurant Elrond had chosen was certainly posh enough so they wouldn’t get bothered by other people, hence he had to make at least an effort. A simple black dress-shirt should be fine for the occasion. Any other colour, Lindir did not feel well with, black suited his lithe body the best. He did not go for a whole suit, but grabbed a tie just in case it was mandatory. Never before had he bothered with dress codes and was a bit lost at what to do. Hopefully Elrond wouldn’t mind.

Elrond did not mind. He was equally dressed as Lindir when they met up in front of the restaurant. Feeling a bit happy and playful, Lindir pressed a careful kiss to his possible mate’s cheek. He knew he probably shouldn’t have, so much still depended on how Elrond’s family would react to their blossoming relationship.

“Hello”, Elrond chuckled, a light blush dusted on his cheeks, barely noticeable. Then he leaned in and returned the gesture.

It was Lindir’s turn to blush furiously. “Let’s go in”, he suggested to hide his embarrassment.

The inside of the restaurant was as show on the pictures Lindir had seen on the internet. It was a bit posh, with old fashioned seats made out of a dark wood. Surprisingly, the dining hall was well lit and did not feel stuffy as it was prone to with such furniture.

A waitress led them to a table prepared for two. She handed them the menus. These were heavy journals, clad in leather. The one in Lindir’s hand felt expensive.

The food was delicious. Neither Elrond nor Lindir made much conversation during eating, just exchanging what their favourite piece on their plates were. As typical, there were many courses of not much food, but filling in the end.

When the plates were cleared, they made a small break before deciding upon a dessert. This they used to finally talk some more.

“What do you do when you aren’t at work?”, Lindir asked. It was an easy topic to talk about. Their last date had included some very heavy talk and divulgence of past sorrows. This time, the minstrel had the hope to avoid this. At least for this day. He did not want to make Elrond feel uncomfortable.

His mate nodded and took a sip of the wine in front of him. He looked at Lindir through the flame of the one long candle on the table. “I read a lot. Mostly non-fiction such as articles about current research and magazines about nature.”

“The first one sounds a bit like work”, Lindir considered, “The second one sounds very interesting.”

“Indeed, following the research is a bit like work”, Elrond agreed. “Still, it is something I do when I am not in the hospital.”

“Has becoming a doctor been your dream?”, Lindir wanted to know.

Elrond nodded. “Since I knew this was a possibility. I am thankful all my fathers were encouraging.”

Lindir noticed the plural used in the last sentence. It alluded to more hidden backstory, so he shoved his curiosity aside. If this became pressing one day, he would certainly be told the story behind.

“What do you do after work?”, Elrond returned the first question.

The flame was flickering, a drop of the white wax started to run down the outside of the candle. After a few centimetres it stopped and became hard again.

“I don’t really have a schedule and my hobby is my job”, Lindir mused. “There is not really much I do outside of music, I’m afraid I’m a bit boring in this regard. I read mostly trashy romance novels or high fantasy alternating with some gritting elvish history articles. Otherwise I like to go for a walk sometimes.”

Elrond smiled. “Elvish history is fascinating, with all the former kings and lords.”

“Yes!”, Lindir agreed. “My favourite tale is the one of the Noldor leaving the blessed realm.”

“I know that one as well”, Elrond said. “But it is not my favourite.”

“Which one do you like best?”

“The one of the kinslayers who adopted the twins. But this might just be my personal preference.”

“That one is an interesting choice”, Lindir agreed. “To this day, I do not know if the children were happy or if it was some kind of Stockholm-Syndrome.”

“I like to think they came to love them because they were truly cared for. Especially since one of the twins later became a lord, who never wrote ill about his captors. I am a bit sad all the names got lost throughout history.”

“Yes, it is a shame”, Lindir agreed. “Sometimes it would help to have a way of referring to the elven ancestors with something else than title, a number and a note to which fraction they belonged.”

Elrond shrugged a bit. “That is the curse of history, I guess. And we elves remember more than the humans do, but the time of the first kings is soo long gone.”

“Your right”, Lindir said. “Several thousands of years. It is a shame.”

“I listened to a few more of your songs”, Elrond furthered their conversation.

Again, Lindir blushed. “And your judgement?”

“I like them, especially the ones that go so much into detail. I noticed the heart you poured into ‘The Flight’.”

“Thank you. It is such a controversy, whether the leader was right or wrong in his motivations, it lent itself perfectly for music.”

After the dessert, they had to cut their date a bit short. It was dark already and Elrond expected his daughter to be brought back to him the next day. He told Lindir he still needed to do some things in the morning to prepare for her return. The minstrel nodded and pressed another chaste kiss to Elrond’s cheek as they separated. He hoped dearly the young Lady would look favourably on the new mark of her father.


	16. Verse II – Arwen's Return

Elrond awoke that morning excited. It was the last Friday of the spring holidays of school, the day his daughter would finally return from her nearly two weeks long stay with her grandparents.

Galadriel and Celeborn had agreed to deliver her around midday. Until then, the house had to be clean. Elrond did not feel very comfortable with letting anyone, even if they were related, into his living quarters when they were dusty. Arwen would certainly prefer if he dusted her room before her arrival.

After breakfast, Elrond went to work. Elladan and Elrohir chose a tactical retreat to not be roped into the cleaning. They were in charge of the bathrooms and their own rooms, a task weekly due. This week, they had already fulfilled it, so Elrond would not have requested them for much. Maybe they could have helped him with the living room, but Elrohir was already gone, probably to Rúmil and from Elladan’s hideout, snoring could be heard. Now that the university had it’s one week spring break, he had used the last night for a gaming marathon taking up till morning.

Elrond would not take special care to not disturb his son. Some of the tasks he had planned to do involved a vacuum cleaner and the hallway in front of Elladan’s room.

Elrond was just finished with preparing the meal, when he heard the sound of footsteps outside. From the sound of it, Galadriel, Celeborn and Arwen had arrived. Elrond stepped out onto the hallway of the small house and shouted for Elladan to come down and greet their guests. An undignified grumble from upstairs told him his son had heard.

The bell chimed and Elrond opened the front door.

Arwen immediately threw herself into his arms and Elrond almost got a mouth full of her dark brown hair. He smiled during the embrace. It was good to have her back. Behind Arwen, his parents-in-law stood and grinned too. They were relaxed as always, which was a relief to see.

“Hello my dear”, Elrond whispered at his daughter.

“Hi Ada”, she replied, her sound muffled because she was speaking into his tunic.

After a few moments, she let go of him and stepped aside to let her grandparents in.

“Hello Elrond”, Galadriel greeted him and offered a hug too. Elrond took it gladly. “You seem more relaxed”, she stated with a raised eyebrow.

Elrond smiled and nodded. He could not hide anything from her, he had never been able to. Galadriel was highly empathic and could read almost anyone immediately. It had been the same when he and Celebrían had newly been dating. Her mother had known very soon.

Celeborn was more reserved. He did not hug Elrond, nor offer him a hand in greeting. From experience Elrond knew his father-in-law was not big on bodily contact with anyone other than Galadriel. Even his grandchildren had had a hard time getting him to agree to good-night-hugs from them.

Everyone was at the kitchen table not long after and Elrond served the meal he had prepared. Today, he had cooked rice, roasted vegetables and made a soup as side-dish. Galadriel nodded approvingly and then they ate.

“I have to tell you something”, Elrond started the conversation.

Immediately everyone let their cutlery sink down. Galadriel smiled, Celeborn looked alerted and Arwen just curious. This was going to be emotional either way.

Galadriel laid her head slightly to the left and mustering Elrond. She said nothing and watched how he squirmed. This was how it always been with her. Her knowing gaze and patient waiting was unnerving.

Elrond swallowed and spoke: “A mark has formed on my upper leg not long ago.”

“Who is it for?”, Celeborn asked at the same time as Arwen sobbed. “Are you forgetting mama?”

Instead of answering, Elrond stood up and cowered down beside Arwen, hugging her. She did not reciprocate, but she also did not push him away. He counted this as a hopeful sign. “Of course I will never forget your Mama”, Elrond whispered into her ear. “She will be forever part of our family.”

“But I don’t want another Mama”, Arwen said. “I won’t like this new women.”

“And another Ada?”, Elrond asked carefully. He had no idea how Arwen or his parents-in-law would react to this particular revelation.

Arwen drew back, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Another Ada?”, she asked. “You mean… the mark, it is for another man?”

Elrond nodded. “He’s an ellon, his name is Lindir.”

“I do not know how to feel about this”, Arwen announced and stood up. She left the kitchen in a hurry and Elrond looked after her. He would not follow, she clearly needed some time alone, as much as he wanted to go after her. He caught Galadriel’s gaze and stood up from where he was still hunkered down next to the now empty chair. The meal was clearly over and he should get the dirty dishes out of the way before talking with the other two elves in the room. He grabbed for the first plate, but Galadriel’s hand on his stopped him.

“Sit down, Elrond”, she commanded and he dared not refuse.

“I take it you have met this guy of yours then?”, Celeborn asked.

Elrond nodded instead of speaking.

“How?”, Celeborn continued his interrogation.

Now Elrond had to be careful with his words. Lindir had not given him permission to reveal his connection to the band and he would not compromise the secrecy, not even with his family. Well, those parts of his family who didn’t know “The connection was formed at the concert I accompanied Elladan to. We met in the crowd and found each other by the magic of modern media.” There, this was hopefully not too much.

“If you met at the concert, does he live here in Eregion?”, Galadriel wanted to know.

“Yes”, Elrond said. “Though he has to travel a lot for his job.”

“So you have met again”, Celeborn deduced. “What do you think of your new possible mate?”

“You’re not judging? And he’s great, really shy and gentle, we were on two dates so far.”

Galadriel laughed, the high tone ringing through the kitchen. “Nobody can influence if one gets a mark. I would not have asked you to reject it to preserve the memory of my beloved Celebrían. This would have been cruel to – Lindir, right?”

“Right”, Elrond said. “And – thank you for understanding.”

“Of course”, Celeborn said. “I would never thought you would get marked for another ellon.”

“Shut up, Celeborn”, Galadriel said in jest. “I was surprised he got a mark for Celebrían.”

Elrond grew red. His mother-in-law was not wrong, he had never preferred any gender, but also he had never made this public knowledge. As many did, he had experimented in his younger years and had reached a conclusion then.

“How was your time with Arwen?”, Elrond changed the topic again and grabbed for the dirty plates again. “Also, Celeborn, could you help me with the kitchen?”

They retired to the living room where Galadriel had waited for them to finish with the kitchen tasks. She had one of Elrond’s magazines in her hand, one of the nature features. On the cover was the picture of a lioness.

“I see you are done”, she stated, placing the magazine onto the table and leaning forwards. Her curly blonde hair immediately fell forward too and she threw it back again.

Celeborn, who had followed after Elrond, sat down in one chair and leaned back. He hated doing the kitchen, but this time he had not refused, taking his punishment almost silently. “Finally done”, he simply sighed.

“Now back to the earlier conversation”, Galadriel chimed. “Do you have a picture of your dear mate?”

Elrond recognized the missing specification of ‘possible’.  He shook his head. Of course he could have pulled up a random picture of ‘The Minstrel’ from the internet, but this was something he felt not comfortable doing. “No. We did not take any pictures yet.”

“Get one”, Galadriel instructed. “Maybe you could draw him, as you did with the red-head.”

It was hard to deny her, so Elrond agreed to do so, if the inspiration struck him and he had the time. With the work in the hospital, he was often short of both.

“Do not let her talk you into everything. She can wait until she gets to meet your new partner in person”, Celeborn interjected, which promptly got him a furious gaze from his wife. He did not back down and for a few seconds they were in a stalemate.

Until Galadriel leaned back. “Sorry. He’s right.”  She breathed in deeply.

Elrond raised his eyebrows. He had seen this before, but it was not something happening often. Celeborn was a clever strategist, something he had kept from his day as high executive officer of a company.  He picked his fights carefully  and almost never told his wife, who he loved with all his heart, to stop. When he did, Galadriel listened, because his words were sound.  In general, Elrond’s parents-in-law did not disagree with each other much. Sometimes, Galadriel’s words were a bit callous though.

“I’m a bit afraid Arwen will not like Lindir much.”

“Why?”, Celeborn asked. “What you have told me of him, he seems quite the decent ellon.”

“He is.”

“Then why the doubt?”

“Her reaction. I fear she thinks I am replacing Celebrían.”

“She doesn’t. It’s new to her, thinking you have found someone new. Maybe it is time for you to introduce Lindir to your children.”

“Do you think it wise, so soon?”

Celeborn nodded. “The sooner the better. Right now, Arwen is certainly feeling insecure. Meeting Lindir should be good for you both. Also, I do not know how long I can calm Galadriel down.”

“Hey!”, she protested and nudged him with her elbow. Then she turned at Elrond again. “To be fair, I am curious and want to meet this young ellon of yours.”

“You may have to wait longer”, Elrond replied. “He’s a bit shy.” The doctor did not divulge the reason for this and he was a bit glad Elladan was not in the room.

“Oh, cute”, Galadriel said. “Still, I want to meet him one day. I’m not that intimidating!”

“You can be”, Celeborn interrupted her. “Let Lindir set the pacing”, he advised.

“I will do so”, Elrond promised.

\- - - -

Acknowledgments: I got some more beautiful art from [yaboiCelsius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaboiCelsius/pseuds/yaboiCelsius)! Thank you sooo much!


	17. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bad day, Haldir comes to visit, sharing a day with Lindir and bringing news of the music world

Lindir slept in on Friday. As Elrond would have absolutely no time to even talk that day, Lindir had the whole day to himself. It was something he was used to. The meetings with his mate had been a welcome distraction during the previous week, but it was also something he needed to get used to. To having someone. Right now, the Minstrel was positive about any future development.

During the midday hours, his phone chimed with a new message. Looking at it, he read the news from Haldir. The silver haired ellon asked if he could come by in the later afternoon. He gave no reason, but he it seemed urgent. OF course Lindir agreed and ordered some sweets to be brought to his home. The amour wearing musician may not look like it, but he had a sweet tooth.

The pastries arrived right on time. Lindir took them from the delivery guy and set them onto a plate in the living room. At the appointed time, Haldir knocked on the front door.

Lindir opened and let his friend enter. Half he had expected Legolas to tag along, but it was only the bassist of the Imladrim Minstrels outside.

“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice”, Haldir said instead of a greeting.

Lindir let him enter and led him to the living room where the pastries were waiting.

“Oh, thank you”, Haldir thanked his friend.

“You’re welcome. Your message seemed dire, so I thought it best to be prepared.”

Haldir nodded. “It is certainly needed, after the day I just had.”

“What happened?”

“Ran into a journalist on the street. I think they are catching on about Eregion being our home-base.”

“How bad was it?”, Lindir asked.

Haldir groaned. “I was in the supermarket. Somehow I managed to get them off me, but it was exhausting.”

“In the supermarket?”

“I think they were grocery shopping too and tried to grab their chance when they saw me. I hate people like this. I mean, the shy fans are fine, they just ask for an autograph, but these? Publicity has never been my strong suit.”

It hadn’t, the self assessment was right. Haldir tended to answer in short, most mono-syllabic words, even during interviews. Some of his longer responses had included strong notions towards the interviewer where he had to shove a particularly privacy invading question.

“I hope you didn’t tell them to fuck off, verbatim, I mean.”

The silver haired ellon chuckled. “No. I was strongly tempted though. They were blocking my way to the onions.”

“What were they questioning you about?”

Again, Haldir sighed. “About these rumours, about our perceived rivalry with the Spirits of Fire. Seriously, where do they get this nonsense form? I have never even spoken with Maitimo or Makalaurё before, how in the name of the void could I have a rivalry with them?”

“I was taken aback by those questions at our last interview too. I am a bit surprised Turgon has not managed to do some damage control on those rumours. The SoF are under the same label as we are after all.”

“He maybe has enough to do with organizing the details of the winter tour”, Haldir mused. “Still, I will phone him once I have calmed down enough.”

Lindir offered his friend the plate. “Dig in, sugar helps usually.”

Haldir tool the offered goods and took one piece. He chewed it carefully and licked the leftovers of sugar from his fingertips.

“You didn’t take any”, he remarked.

“I had fun watching you”, Lindir said. “You had a look of pure enjoyment on your face.”

“Oh. Thanks I guess.”

“Where is Legolas? I had thought you would spent most of your time together during our break?”

Haldir chuckled. “His father demanded his attention. Thranduil can be a real bastard and I was glad I did not have to tag along this time.”

“He still doesn’t like you?”

“Nah, stubborn he is. He’s still pissed about me seducing his son at a festival.”

“But it’s been so long!”, Lindir protested.

“He’s the sterotypical ellon, never forgets nor forgives.”

“You do not sound to sad about it…”

“I learned early how to deal with people like him and I did not feel ready for another confrontation with him, so Legolas went alone. He will be back in a few day, which I am glad for.”

“Yeah, we need to start with the rehearsals and plans for the Minas Festival soon”, Lindir remembered. “Ah. Sometimes I wish the break would last longer.”

“Nah. I am glad were going forward. You know, I love the Minas Festival.”

A fact Lindir remembered well. Haldir and Legolas had met for the first time at this festival, during a show of Tauriel’s old band. It was funny to see how all had played out in the end.

“I know”, Lindir said. “I has certainly its merits.”

“How’s it going with your possible mate, by the way?”, Haldir inquired.

“It’s going fine. We met several times and he’s wonderful. I am a bit uncertain how his family will take our relationship though.”

“I can tell you right now, Elrohir is very much on your side. At least that’s what Rúmil has told me.”

“He spoke with you?”

“He’s my brother, of course he did. Especially after what had happened. He’s invested, I would call it.”

“Ah. Well, today, Elrohir’s younger sister, Arwen, comes back from her holidays with her grandparents and she doesn’t know yet. Much depends on her reaction.”

“Oh”, Haldir said. “I do not know much of her, but what Rúmil told me, she is a sweet young lady.”

“Elrond also speaks very highly of her.”

“Of course, she’s his only daughter!”

Lindir smiled. “As afraid I am of her reaction, I want to meet her. But that’s up to Elrond.”

Haldir nodded. “Let him set the pacing. If he invites you, do not say no.”

“I won’t”, Lindir promised. “On to something different now. Do you have any ideas for the show at the Minas Festival this year?”

“We’re on the first day, yes?”, Haldir asked. “Sorry, I have not paid much attention to the scheduling so far.”

“We are”, Lindir replied. “Shame on you, I thought you love the festival?”

“I do. To be honest, the last week I was glad to not deal with the scheduling and organizing part of our profession. The incident today brought it back though. I guess our slot is late in the evening?”

“Yes. There was a bit re-scheduling going on, because another band had to cancel, but we’re now the headliner for the first day.”

“And we stay the other days too, right?”, Haldir asked hopefully. “I hope Turgon hasn’t fucked that one up again.”

“He hasn’t”, Lindir calmed his friend down. “We’re allowed to stay all days of the festival.”

“Wonderful.” Haldir sighed. It was no secret he wanted to spent the days mostly with Legolas somewhere in front of the stages, enjoying the music. For once escaping the attention of the crowd and being a part of it again.

“Yes”, Lindir agreed. “Also, the Spirits of Fire are the headliners for the second day and I want to meet them, maybe see for once where the rumours come from.”

“Good idea. Maybe you can foster some better relations. Have you thought of bringing your mate along?”

“Actually I have. I’m less sure if he will agree. He’s not the biggest music person.”

“Aw, I’m sure you will get him there.”

“I will ask him in time. Have you heard of Tauriel?”

Haldir shook his head. “Naw, she has been awfully quiet again. I hope she did not have another missed connection.”

It was a legitimate fear. Their drummer had not had much luck with her marks so far. Two times her possible mate had eluded her. Especially the second time she had taken very badly. Her silence was a bit disconcerting, usually she was the first one up after a tour to discuss what came next for them.

“Or maybe she had some luck for once”, Lindir replied. “Maybe we should reach out to her.”

“Alright, I will ring her later and see how she’s doing. We really should get back together soon to think about the next show. I have two songs I would like to add to our set and one to take off.”

“I’m up for some change. We can’t deliver the same set of pieces as on tour after all.” Indeed, the crowd at festivals was different from those how came to their concerts. At festivals, the audience was much more mixed and some were there for the other bands and knew only the songs which were popular. Hence the need to plan for the more popular pieces on stage.

It took them a while to discuss their ideas and when they were done, Haldir had calmed down enough to go home. Lindir gave him the leftovers of the sweets to take with him. The Minstrel wanted to know his friend well taken of.

On Saturday, Tauriel sent him an early message, telling him everything was fine on her side and she appreciated the check in. She had been occupied with a personal project, on which she had spent most of her time. She did not let out which project was taking up her time though. Lindir left it at that. The last time, she had completely restructured her drum set and it was better not to question her motives.

Elrond phoned around the mid of the day. At first, they shared a bit of who their days went and Lindir told about Haldir’s visit.

“He’s Rúmil’s elder brother, right? The one who organized our connection?”

“Correct”, Lindir said. “He was one of the helpers.”

Their conversation went to remembering how strange their finding had been and the desperation both had felt in the days they had thought to have missed their possible mate.

Then Elrond grew silent and Lindir realized it. “Is something up?”, he asked. So far, he had not inquired about how Arwen had taken the news. He was a bit of a coward that way.

“No. Yes. Alright. Arwen was not exactly thrilled, but I want you two to meet, soon.”

Lindir swallowed. He would get to meet Elrond’s family. He remembered his promise to Haldir to not decline the offer should it arrive. “I am free and would love to meet your children. All of them.”

Elrond chuckled. “Be careful what you wish for. Need I remind you of Elladan’s enthusiasm for your music?”

“I can deal”, Lindir said. Fans like Elladan, the charming sort, were easy to tolerate, maybe even to make friends of. “I would truly love to see Arwen. Are you sure she will appreciate me invading your house?”

“I spoke with her after her initial reaction. She just felt overwhelmed by the news, but she agreed to invite you. Because you make me happy, she said.”

Lindir blushed, for a moment glad his mate could not see him this way, behaving like a school boy with a crush. “You make me happy too”, he replied. “When do you want to set the meeting the family?”

“I have a day off on Tuesday”, Elrond declared. “I would have offered tomorrow, but I have to take a shift at the hospital.”

“Tuesday sounds amazing.” It truly did. Tomorrow would have sent Lindir’s mind off into a spin, overthinking everything. Having the few days to prepare was a relief. Should he bring a present for the young Lady or would she count this as bribery? Again he felt a bit at a loss in interpersonal matters. He would ask Elrond for guidance on these matters and listen carefully.


	18. Meeting the Family

Lindir was a bit anxious about meeting Elrond’s family at the doctor’s house. He knew of course of Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. Their father had talked about them with love and pride. The preparation for the meeting had kept Lindir awake during the last days. He had even phoned Elrond once or twice for advise on what his children would like. In the end, the Minstrel had settled on a small present for all elves of the family. He had tried to bake a strawberry cake, following a complicated recipe on the internet. Apparently everyone in Elrond’s family enjoyed the fruit very much, Arwen most of them. Also, bringing food had the benefit of spending time together.

Elrond knocked on the door at exactly the appointed time. Lindir was already waiting for him, in his usual style with a beanie on his head.

“Are you ready?”, Elrond asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”, Lindir answered and stepped out of the door. “Let’s go and meet your children.”

They did not talk much on the drive to Elrond’s house. The doctor was still a bit needing the quiet after work and Lindir could give him this. Instead, he watched the outside drift by.

His mate lived twenty minutes away from Lindir and with the car, it was a comfortable ride. The neighbourhood was similar to Lindir’s. Small houses and apartment buildings lined the streets. Elrond finally parked in front of the houses and turned the motor off.

“There we are”, he said.

To Lindir’s surprise, he wasn’t welcomed by the children at the door of the house. Elrond unlocked the gate and they entered into a hallway. Lindir put his shoes onto the rack and was given comfortable slippers by Elrond to keep his feet warm. It was necessary, as most of the house seemed to be covered with tiles.

Elrond led Lindir into the kitchen and put water into the kettle, promising tea.

“Where are your children?”, Lindir asked carefully.

Elrond smiled. “Elladan has a lecture and will be here in three hours. Arwen should arrive in one and when Elrohir will appear I do not know. He’s going on a date with Rúmil today, so it’s probably going to be late and after sunset when he comes home.”

“Oh. Although I am glad I was not confronted at the doorstep. How’s Arwen doing?”

“Oh, she is fine, the weeks with Galadriel and Celeborn have done her good. I also thing she is adjusting to the thought of me having a new partner.”

“I am relieved”, Lindir whispered. “Her approval would mean so much. She is not biased towards me or my image, which is also refreshing.”

“Yes, about that – Expect Elladan to pose some questions regarding your celebrity status… He’s enthusiastic, to say the least.”

“I thought as much. I will answer him what I can, for I owe him. Without his insistence to come to our concert, we would have never met.”

“Then you owe Elrohir too”, Elrond laughed. “Though he is less likely to pose such questions, as he is already connected to your band-mates after all.”

“He is. Although only loosely, hence why he and I never met. Of Haldir’s brothers I have only met Orophin before, who is the second eldest.”

Elrond nodded. “Yes, Rúmil told me about his siblings, he is the youngest of the three.”

By now the water was boiling and Lindir’s possible mate went to the kettle and poured each a cup. Elrond himself chose some green tea and put the leaves carefully into the boiling hot liquid. “Do you want to see the living room?”, Elrond asked and motioned to the kitchen door once again. Lindir picked up his cup of tea and followed.

The living room was tastefully decorated and one wall was covered with family pictures. Elrond noticed Lindir’s curiosity and led him towards it.

The Minstrel looked at the pictures. Several of them were of the twins, who resembled their father a great deal. To Lindir’s surprise he was able to find subtle differences between the nearly identical twins, so he would not address them incorrectly. Arwen was as beautiful as Lindir had expected her to be. She had long hair which fell like a stream down her back. In most of the pictures she had a serious expression and her smiles were seldom. There also were some photos of another woman, one with unusual silver hair.

“Celebrían?”, Lindir asked and pointed towards a particular wonderful picture of her in a rose garden.

Elrond nodded. “Yes. She loved roses, white ones were her favourite.”

“She was beautiful.”

“She was.”

“You must miss her.”

“I do. Very much. She would like you as well.”

Lindir smiled. “Thank you. I would have loved to make her acquaintance.”

They retired to the couch after a while and sat close together, Lindir leaning against Elrond, listening to him telling stories of his children.

This was how Arwen found them thirty minutes later as she came home from school. Somehow she managed to enter the house without anyone noticing. Lindir had expected Elrond to greet her at the door once he heard her keys in the lock. This did not happen, the young lady must have some superior talent in moving soundless.

Suddenly the door to the living room opened and a young woman entered the room. She seemed older than the fifteen years she was, a great sadness lurking in her eyes. Her long dark brown hair reached almost down to her waist. Currently she wore it open and it fell a bit forward over her shoulder in soft waves.

Her face changed from open enthusiasm to curiosity when she saw Lindir sitting on the couch next to her Ada.

“Oh!”, she exclaimed under her breath. She added in greeting: “Mae govannen.”

Lindir smiled. As her father, her words were gentle and spoken with care. He stood up and bowed slightly. “Mae govannen, Lady Arwen.”

At this, a grin spread over her face. Being called a lady seemed to please her. “You must be Lindir”, she said.

Elrond stood up and nodded. “Yes. He is Lindir, the one who bears my mark and I his.“

She mustered Lindir extensively. “I like your hair.”

“Thank you, though yours is much more magnificent.”

She blushed, but then her face grew darker. “Are you trying to get into my good graces by being charming?”

Her assessment wasn’t completely wrong, Lindir wanted to make a good first impression. There was much truth in words though, as Arwen was the most accomplished young Lady he ever met. “I will not deny I am trying to be on my best behaviour, as I am guest in your home”, he said, opting for honesty. “Otherwise, you are certainly a fair lady.”

She narrowed her eyes and Elrond tensed next to Lindir, as if he was waiting for a scathing remark on her part. Lindir did expect it, for his bluntness he deserved it. Instead, she sighed and turned to her father. “I like his honesty. You should keep him.” Arwen turned back to the Minstrel. “If you break my Ada’s heart, I am going to break yours.”

“Arwen”, Elrond said in warning and she blushed again.

Lindir put a hand on his arm. “It’s fine. I will allow you your revenge, but I have no intention of breaking your father’s heart.”

She nodded. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me”, she said to Elrond and vanished.

“That went well”, Elrond commented.

Lindir sighed. “It could have gone worse.”

“I am glad she did not react badly”, Elrond mused. “I half expected her to scold you more.”

“I think the shovel talk was enough for the first meeting”, Lindir replied and grinned. “Let’s see how the boys react.”

There was hope for the future in both of them.

Before they went into the kitchen to make some more tea before Elladan came home, they went by the wall of pictures again.

A single drawing captured the Minstrel’s eyes. “Who is this?”, Lindir asked, pointing at a drawing on the wall. It was a black and white pencil sketch and several years old. The sun had tinged the paper a bit yellow at the edges.

Elrond sighed. “This is a drawing of Maedhros, on of my earlier foster-fathers.”

“It is a good drawing”, Lindir praised.

“Thank you. It is the only image remaining to me.”

“Why do you have no pictures of him?”

“Maedhros and his brother Maglor took me and Elros in, off the street. They were not in the best place then, but we loved them. One day, they did not come back and they had not told us where they had gone. The office responsible for youths came and took us away then, to another foster home.”

“How long were you with the brothers?”

“Several years. And I miss them still. I wonder what has happened to them.”

Lindir nodded. “I hope they are still alive.”

“I hope so too. I want to know why they never came back.”

Again, the minstrel looked at the picture. The face seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he could not place the ellon depicted in the sketch. Maybe it was just a weak resemblance to someone he knew.

Notes: I got another great art from [yaboiCelsius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaboiCelsius/pseuds/yaboiCelsius)! It was the cover for a music magazine with articles about the Imladrim Minstrels and I love it soo much! Maybe I can show it here one day...


	19. Chorus: Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the permission to share the art I got and promptly written it into the story as plot!

“Maedhros and his bother Maglor raised me and my twin brother for our formative years”, Elrond explained. “It was never a legal adoption, we just took the invitation they offered.”

“What happened with your blood-parents?”, Lindir asked. “If you are willing to share.”

Elrond’s felt bitterness rising in him. “I do not know. Mother just left me and my brother in a restaurant one day and never came back.”

“And you father?”

“He had been gone for years by then. Mother never got over it and was often distant. I do not know if something happened to them or if it was her decision.” It was true. Elrond had never been able to find out what had occurred the night he and Elros were left behind. His brother had refused to help with the research, claiming he wasn’t interested and had his own life now. Elrond had tried to find out about the fate of his mother, but there were no traces left behind. There had never been her body found either, so Elrond suspected she was still alive. There was not much care for her in him, he missed the brother who had taken them in so altruistic more.

“I’m sorry”, Lindir whispered.

Elrond shushed him. “Don’t be. It’s long in the past.” He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss onto Lindir’s cheek. The face of the minstrel grew an adoring shad of red.

“And the brothers, Maedhros and Maglor you said?”

“No trace of them either. You should know, Elros and I were taken from them by the office and sent to an orphanage until Ereinion adopted us. When we begged him to take us to see them, their old address was empty.”

“I am sorry”, Lindir said.

The grief in Elrond was great and he cherished the fact that his possible mate understood. There was nothing they could do to change the fact though. Elrond would have loved for his foster parents to meet his new mate. Ereinion they could meet, but Maedhros and Maglor were beyond his reach. Probably forever. There was no certainty about their fate.

Thankfully their conversations soon drifted to more enjoyable topics.

He did not hear it when Elladan came home. He and Lindir were deep in conversation when the elder twin entered the house. The Minstrel was currently telling Elrond a few anecdotes about the formation of the Imladrim Minstrels. It was a tale which spanned some time. The irony of the thing was how much of it was connected to the Minas Festival – a festival Elladan had already spoken of much, wanting to attend this year. Elrond had thought of buying a ticket for his son once, but when he had finally decided upon an action, all the tickets had been sold out. He knew Elladan was sad because of it, maybe in the next year there would be a possibility.

The knock on the living room door startled them both.

“Enter!”, Elrond said loudly enough for his son to hear.

The door opened and Elladan poked his head in. “Hello Ada!”, he said. “I’m back!”

“I can see this”, Elrond replied with a smile. He watched as the eyes of his son darted to Lindir and grew big. A look of hero-worship, the same one as at the meet-and-greet, stole itself onto his features. Elladan opened the door wide and stepped into the room, his body language fixed on Lindir.

Elrond glanced at his mate, who was preparing to rise up, even though he was clearly unused to the situation.

Elladan, usually more boisterous than Elrohir, suddenly seemed to grow a bit shy. Elrond saw the shift in his demeanour clearly, brought on my the presence of the famous singer in their living room. The elder twin even bowed and said: “Mae govannen, Lindir of the Imladrim Minstrels.”

Lindir smiled, revealing how charmed he felt. Elrond knew he was not the biggest fan of such attention, but he took it in a stride.

“Hello Elladan Elrondion”, he replied, using the same allusions to the old elven language as Elladan had done. “Thank you for having me as a guest in your house.”

Again, the shy politeness of the singer worked as a charm. Elladan’s smile lit his whole face. “The pleasure is all mine! Gosh, I have so many questions!”

Elrond wondered if he should step in and try to calm down his son a bit, wanting to take a bit of the attention off

Lindir, but his mate beat him to it.

“And you are welcome to pose them, but not all at once and not today”, the Minstrel instructed.

Again, Elladan blushed and looked at the floor. “Of course. I’m sorry, I got carried away a bit…”

“No worries”, Lindir replied grinning. “You will get your answers soon enough.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you”, Elladan muttered and nodded happily. “Just.. could you do one thing for me?”

Elrond saw in his son’s eyes what this would be. “I think he’s going to ask you to sign his most prized magazine of his collection right now”, he said to Lindir.

His mate looked at him questioningly.

“Ada!”, Elladan protested. The redness in his face was telling though. So he turned to Lindir. “He’s right…”

“What magazine would that be?”, Lindir asked curiously.

“The first one where you were on the front cover”, Elladan muttered underneath his breath. “The Trendwatcher, with the special interview with the Archeress.”

Elrond knew his son held this magazine in great honours – it had only been a very limited edition, with only maybe a thousand issues distributed in all of Middle-Earth. Getting the one about the Minstrels had not been easy, according to Elladan.

“You got one of these?”, Lindir asked surprised. Not his eyes were big too. “That was their yearly limited elven special three years ago! Of course I would sign it.”

Art by [yaboiCelsius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaboiCelsius/pseuds/yaboiCelsius)

“You were very soft with Elladan”, Elrond stated. He had expected Lindir to be a little bit more harsher in the face of such fannish behaviour.

“Ah”, his mate said and chuckled. “He was sweet and nice about it. Why should I deter his enthusiasm? I am glad there are people who enjoy my music.”

“Just, you told me about your current problems with journalists…”

“Oh, those. Your son is different and I doubt he would shout my identity into the world. No, I feel like I can trust him. And he’s very respectful, your son.”

Now it was Elrond’s turn to smile. He had done his best to raise his children after Celebrían had lost her fight against cancer. With Arwen he was struggling a bit, as she missed her mother greatly, but the boys had turned out fine.

“Also, I was a bit surprised at him having on of those magazines”, Lindir followed up.

Elrond groaned. “You do not want to know which lengths he went to to acquire it. It was his quest for almost half a year after he had learned of it’s existence.”

“Does he know these can be accessed on the internet easily?”, Lindir asked.

“Of course. He was insistent on wanting a physical copy, claiming it would be worth it. He told me the interview with your Archeress would only be available in the printed version.”

Now Lindir sighed. “Oh, yes, that. She was very proud of it, just so you know.”

“I can imagine. What’s her name, if you can tell me?”

“Tauriel, daughter of the woods. She’s the best drummer I have ever seen. Also, she was among the founders of the band.”

This was note exactly news to Elrond, as he had heard the tale before. Especially Elladan had raved on about the unusual meetings and straight up coincidences which had led to the formation.

“All in all, I am glad with how things turned out so far”, Elrond said. “Neither Arwen nor Elladan reacted badly to your staying here.”

“I am glad too”, Lindir replied and smiled.

In due time, Elrond prepared supper and Lindir helped to the best of his abilities. Their late meal would not be a grand one, mainly consisting out of a loaf of good bread and cheese. Lindir noted the absence of meat on the table. Arwen and Elladan joined them and the Minstrel got seated in the place which obviously had belonged to Celebrían once. The young Lady did not seem to be very happy about it, so Lindir stood up and stole Elrohir’s seat. The younger of the twins had not arrived so far and Elrond allowed it. He had seen the tension in his daughter’s shoulders as soon as she had entered the kitchen. He was a bit surprised his mate had seen and acted accordingly.

“Sorry”, Arwen whispered. “It’s just…”

“You do not have to apologize”, Lindir interrupted her. “I fully understand.”

She smiled gratefully and Elrond felt a bit uncomfortable for not realizing her distress. Lindir reached over and squeezed his hand in encouragement.

After supper they retired to the living room again. The children went upstairs and Elrond got two glasses out of the cabinet. He filled them sweet white wine and offered his mate some.

“It was an eventful day”, Lindir reminisced. “I am happy.”

“Me too”, Elrond replied and leaned against his mate’s shoulder. He felt a chaste kiss to his cheek and grinned. He then turned to Lindir and returned the gesture. It was all innocent between them still, as in that matter Lindir would have to make the first step one day. Elrond would never pressure his beloved into anything, but still he enjoyed the cuddling very much.


	20. A night well spent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindir stays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter than usual. Next week, the drama and romance both will pick up again

Elrohir came home late, as Elrond had predicted. That he would come had been out of the question, but the time had been less certain. This time they heard the keys in the lock to the front door and Elrond went there and greeted his son. Lindir stayed behind in the living room, waiting if he would be greeted by the younger (only by a few minutes) of the twins.

The door opened and a head peaked through. The boy wore his hair now shorter than in the pictures Lindir had seen of him. As opposed to his family, his dark brown hair fell only slightly over his shoulders. His face was a bit longer than Elladan’s, which marked the main difference between the otherwise identical twins. Elrohir also had not the look of a fan in his eyes.

“Hello Lindir”, he said calmly and entered the room fully. “It is good to make your acquaintance.”

“The pleasure is all mine”, the Minstrel replied. “Also, thank you for your part in establishing the connection between me and your father. Tell me, how his Rúmil?”

Elrohir blushed a bit, but he was still more calm than his brother had been. At the mention of Rúmil, he grinned. “Oh, my mate is doing fine. He is glad you’re back from tour, as he can now spent some time with Haldir.”

“He wouldn’t be the only one glad to be back”, Lindir insinuated.

“I can imagine”, Elrohir said and glanced at Elrond. “Father was starting to get impatient to finally met you.”

“Oh, was he?”

Elrond laughed a short laugh, like a bark. “He’s not wrong, only exaggerated.”

“Maybe.” Elrohir smiled crookedly. “But you were staring at your phone more often these days.”

Overall, meeting the second twin was without the tension which had arisen before Elladan came home. Elrohir seemed much more comfortable around Lindir and treated him as a simple ellon, which was relieving. The Minstrel did not doubt the other one would come around soon. It was heartening to see the twins were very different from each other, other than appearance.

“I will leave you to it”, Elrohir said. “I think we will see enough of each other in the coming weeks.” He winked at Lindir. “Or maybe already tomorrow?”

A blush spread over the Minstrel’s face as he watched the door close behind Elrond’s second son.

“Children”, the elder commented. “

“Do you want to go home tonight, or do you want to stay?”, Elrond asked carefully. Lindir was surprised by the question. It was indeed late and the drive to his own home would take many minutes. Still, he wasn’t sure if he should accept. He was a guest in this house and even though the children had all reacted favourably, it was less certain if they would keep to their opinion should they meet him at the breakfast table again. Especially Arwen was a bit unpredictable. On the other hand, Lindir was tired and he saw the same sentiment in Elrond’s posture. It would be rude and even a bit dangerous to ask for a ride now.

Lindir smiled shyly. “I would like to stay, if it is possible. Driving home now…”

“Would not be a good decision, I agree”, Elrond finished.

“But where shall I sleep?”, Lindir asked. Logically he knew there were two possibilities. Either in a bedroom for guests or in Elrond’s bed. He secretly hoped for the latter, for he desired his mate close. Sleeping in a strange bedroom had never been easy for him.

Elrond smiled. “Well, you can decide, though I have a preferred option of course.”

“Which are the options?”

“My room, or a guest room.”

Lindir blinked; thought about it. Formulating an answer with Elrond so close was not easy. In the end, he settled on: “If you would have me.”

Elrond cuddled closer. “Of course.”

It took them a while to retire to the bedroom of Elrond. They were comfortable in the living room and saw no need to go to bed soon. Throughout the evening, every child poked in their head at least once, telling their Ada and Lindir goodnight. The Minstrel returned the favour and bid them fair dreams. Arwen smiled at this brightly and nodded.

The bedroom Elrond led Lindir to was beautiful and had obviously been built for two, no wonder there. It had a distinct elven touch to it. It was to be seen in the fragile wooden frame of the bed, carved in a style between old elvish traditional and human art nouveau. The mattress was clad with a simple white linen and Lindir was sure it would be comfortable to touch. The blankets looked heavy and they were covered with fabric decorated with fern leaves the colour of spring grass. Otherwise, there were two wardrobes in the room, each to a side of the bed. The wood was lacquered with a soft grey tone, keeping the general feeling one of light. The windows spanned almost the whole length at the foot of the bed, giving a beautiful sight outside to where the night was dark and cloudy.

Obviously only one side of the bed was in regular use. The right right side, which was placed towards the door,  it was Elrond’s. Lindir stared for a while and smiled. It was a beautiful room and it held still something of Celebrían’s personality. There was a wedding picture on the bedside table of Elrond’s side and some picture up on the wall behind the bed, which had certainly been picked by her. It did not  make Lindir feel unwelcome or like an intruder. A bit strange it was, entering the most private room of another ellon, but the presence of his mate helped a great deal.

“What do you prefer to sleep in?”, Elrond interrupted his thoughts.

Lindir blushed. He was indeed very old fashioned in this and he doubted Elrond would have a night robe on hand. These were mostly flowing garments made of fine fabric, perfect to cuddle in. He told his mate as much.

Indeed, Elrond had no such robe in his closet, but he offered one of his more comfortable tunics to Lindir. It was soft indeed and went halfway down to the Minstrel’s knees, which was acceptable.

Elrond had also brought a second toothbrush for Lindir to use. It became clear to the minstrel his mate had planned for the eventuality of him staying the night. It had not been on his own agenda, for this far his thoughts had not strayed. Too much had depended on the welcome of the children, especially Arwen. Now that she was accepting, much anxiety had been taken from Lindir.

Lindir took the left side of the bed, as it was offered to him. He slipped underneath the blanket and found his early observation to be correct. It was heavy and comfy and cool at the first touch, just as he liked it. There must be something to being signed with a soul-mark.  His mate took a few moments longer to settle in and they glanced at each other from across the sides of the bed. Then Elrond shuffled closer to the middle and opened his arms in an inviting gesture. Lindir blushed and hid his face for a moment in the blanket before he accepted the offer.

E lrond was warm and soft and only wore his shorts in bed. Lindir looked his body up and down in appreciation before the arms engulfed him and they cuddled again. Now the Minstrel was allowed to explore the body underneath his fingers in a chaste manner and he used the time. He was not comfortable for more, just pressed some kisses, light as a feather, against Elrond’s neck. They fell asleep with smiles on their faces.


	21. Too much...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... is happening in this chapter.

Morning came sooner than they wished and they were woken up by Elrond’s alarm clock. It played one of Lindir’s harp pieces, which was sweet and soft. It ended their peaceful slumber in each other’s arms.

“I’m sorry for the early waking”, Elrond whispered and pressed a kiss to Lindir’s lips. The minstrel returned the gesture with a sleepy expression on his face.

“It’s early”, he purred and shifted to lay his cheek against Elrond’s chest. He heard the heart beat underneath, steady and calm and it began lulling him back to sleep.

Unfortunately reality caught up to them. Elrond had an early shift at the hospital and it was important for him. He drove Lindir home on his way to work. During breakfast, they had already scheduled another date in two days, so they would meet up soon again.

The third date which they took outside their homes was to be at a restaurant which Elrond had chosen. Lindir found his way there himself and was surprised how well his mate had chosen. It was a traditional place of the men, serving the foods from the eastern continent and offered a buffet with many vegetarian options.

The meal tasted amazing and Lindir enjoyed every moment of sharing his time with Elrond. Afterwards, they agreed to go to a park again. Seemingly, the darker haired one had chosen the place for it’s closeness to such a place. He had chosen well.

Walking through the park was good, even if they did not dare yet clasping their hands together. Lindir enjoyed the warm rays of the afternoon sun on his face and listened to Elrond tell of his years at university.

Everything went smoothly until it didn’t anymore. Lindir had left his beanie at home, the weather being to warm to wear it and he had done up his hair in a bun. He hated wearing a bun, it made him look like an old-fashioned house wife (or a modern school girl), both options he did not favour. He had already learned his hair was recognizable though for it’s length and colour.

It happened what Lindir had feared that day in the park.

“Excuse me?”, someone asked just as Lindir and Elrond were on their way to leave the park they had gone to after the date. The voice belonged obviously to some young man and he was excited. A fan, most likely. The Minstrel stiffened as was glad he and his mate had not been holding hands at this point. A flash of embarrassment drove through him, because his relief made him feel wrong. He was not ashamed of his love, never he would be. It was the fame which made everything so fragile.

“Yes?”, Elrond asked the young man. His voice was unwavering and almost cold, as if he was doing business. The young one ignored him resolutely.

“Are you the Minstrel?”, he asked Lindir.

This was defeat for the singer, as he had been recognized. Internally he sighed and freaked out at the same time. He hated these situations and now he was pulling Elrond into them as well. He was not happy about this. Still he nodded, as there was no use in hiding his identity. The fan had at least called him by his stage-name, which was a relief.

“Oh”, the fan replied. “I did not you were based in Eregion.”

“I am on vacation”, Lindir replied, trying to be unpleasant on purpose. He knew he wasn’t very convincing. His sentence about being on vacation was no lie, only an evasion.

The fan seemed to get the hint though. “Oh. I am sorry.” He flushed red and looked a bit at the floor. “For disturbing your holiday. Would it be possible to get an autograph from you?”

Elrond stepped forward, but Lindir held him back with a small shake of his head. He would handle the situation himself and did not need help. It the fame, his curse, not something his mate should feel responsible for. Thankfully the doctor understood and calmed down a bit. Also, this fan was of the shy sort, only asking for a signed piece of paper. There had been more aggressive people before, asking for pictures, something Lindir was not willing to allow.

“You can have one. Do you have a slip of paper and a pen?”

“I feel like going home”, Lindir announced as soon as the fan was gone. He had vanished, walked out of their eye-sight.

Elrond nodded. “I am surprised you stayed this calm. I had half a mind to step in there.”

“I freaked out internally, but I would never be impolite to a fan. At least not less polite than they are”, he grimaced. “It’s an unfortunate side-effect of being popular and I’m getting used to it.”

“If you ever need to get out of such a situation, you can”, Elrond trailed off into his thoughts for a while, “nudge me with your elbow and I will be unfriendly to the person in question.”

“Thank you”, Lindir replied. “It should not be your duty.”

“I’m offering my help freely.”

Elrond accompanied Lindir to his home and the Minstrel showed him around. His quarters were nothing to brag about, very simple in their design and of dark colours. Elrond nodded appreciating the tour. He commented on the kitchen, praising it’s features and design. Lindir told him he had not paid much attention when choosing this one, only looking for functionality.

They sat down in the living room for a while and Lindir regretted that his mate would not be able to stay for the night. He had an early shift in the morning and needed to go the hospital. The night they had shared in each other’s arms had been like a dream for Lindir and he hoped for a repeat. He would not be able to follow Elrond home this night. He feared he was falling too fast.

Later, Elrond said goodbye with a kiss and the promise to return soon. Lindir kissed him back, holding on as long as he could. He understood very well that their lives were much different and he would gift Elrond every freedom he needed. It was only fair, even if he wished some things could shared already.

Lindir watched as Elrond drove off into the night. Night had fallen as they spoke and cuddled. The room now felt a bit empty. The minstrel went to bed with a heavy heart.

In the morning he awoke and finally took his harp up again. He needed to practice after these days where he had not picked it up. As there was no band to accompany him with their instruments, he chose to play an older, traditional song which had been told through history. It was a lament for one of the greatest king of the eldar and a sad piece, at least if one believed the scholars. To Lindir, it had always held some hope for the future despite the grief which lay in the words. He did not sing along for once, only letting the sound of his own instrument fill the room to it’s fullest capacity.

It was not long before he was disturbed.

The phone rang and Lindir took it in hand. On the display the contact photo of Turgon was to be seen, flashing brightly. It was his work number, not his private one. Which could mean anything, really, but nevertheless Lindir’s stomach dropped.

He took the call and said: “Yes? It’s Lindir.” Old habits from times without caller identification were hard to loose.

“Turgon. There’s a problem.”

“What kind of?”

“A journalistic one. The situation with the rumours has grown out of hand since the interview with the SoF got printed and into the stores.”

Lindir grimaced. He had hoped this would finally die instead of getting worse. “Why did this happen?”, he asked, curious now. He suspected the Spirits of Fire would have equally less wish for the publicity nonsense which was getting worse now.

“I already had a stern talk with my brother Fingon, their manager”, Turgon declared. “He was not happy I had not informed him sooner. His musicians had no idea and their answers to the questions pertaining us were – shaky. Hence why the rumours grew. You should read that interview by the way.”

“I will”, Lindir promised. “Anything else?”

“Be on the watch. I suspect the tabloids are now on our trail for more of their bloody stories.”

Lindir sighed. This was exactly the thing he hated. Especially now that he finally had something to hide from them, namely his mate Elrond. The sudden meeting with a fan had already been too much for the Minstrel’s nerves and he was not eager to repeat this soon again. With the interest in the rumours now picking up, he maybe had to cut short his time in open and public spaces. Thankfully there were some places where detection was unlikely.

“I will be”, he promised their manager. “I’m going to meet with the others soon, to plan for the Minas Festival. It’s only a month off now.”

“Ah yes, true”, Turgon sighed. “Do you know how much pyrotechnics you need?”

“Not much”, Lindir said. “Some smoke would be awesome, but were performing before the sun is fully down, so fire will not have much of an effect.”

“Alright. Noted. Also, I will arrange a meeting between the Minstrels and the Spirits of Fire during the festival, so that we can get rid of the nasty reports.”

“Fine”, Lindir said. “I wanted to get to know them anyway. The festival seems to be perfect for this. By the way, can I bring my mate to the festival?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, I will just have to request the pass for him. So it’s progressing well between you?”

“Yes.” Lindir blushed. It was going more than good. He was in love, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: For describing the styles of the IM and the SoF, I am using existing bands as references, for one needs inspiration for such things.


	22. Verse III: Sleeping

The phone rang as Elrond was preparing lunch for Arwen. She had wished for some dumplings with fried vegetables and he did his best to provide for her. Also, the idea to cook this was not a bad one. It was something his other children would appreciate too. At the sound, he let the big spoon sink to the table, grabbed his phone and answered the call.

“Hey Elrond”, Lindir said. His voice sounded exhausted and weary. Elrond was instantly suspicious, because this was not characteristic otherwise shy but cheerful mate. Something was up.

“Hello Lindir”, he greeted and raised his eyebrows at the wall. “You sound – tired.” He hoped his mate would tell him without being prompted.

“Just exhausted”, the Minstrel sighed. “I had a bad run in with a journalist.”

Shit. Immediately all alarms in Elrond’s mind went off. The encounter with the fan a few days prior had made him aware of the fate of a celebrity such as Lindir was. He had thought this mate’s precautions had been good, the beanie an easy way to hide his hair.

“I shall come and get you to mine. I’ll be at your home in thirty minutes”, he promised. His mate needed him and he would be there. This was an emergency.

The call ended and Elrond called for Arwen. For her room, she shouted she would need two minutes before coming down to the kitchen. He used the time to find his keys to the car and a thin jacket. The wind was cold today, even if it was early summer.

“Ada?”, she asked. “What is up?”

“I have to get to Lindir”, he replied and placed his hands on her shoulder. “I am sorry, my dear. It’s an emergency.”

“What happened?”

“He had a run in with someone who wasn’t nice and sounds pretty bad on the phone.”

“Oh. Is he hurt?”, she wanted to know, concern in her voice. “Shall I come with you?”

“He isn’t hurt, as far as he told me, but in deep emotional turmoil”, he explained. “I will get him here. If everything goes well, I’ll be back in an hour.”

She smiled, thoughtful and sad at the same time. “Get him. I will look after the food.”

“I am so sorry”, Elrond said and went into a crouching position in front of her. “I wanted to make this for you and now…”

“He’s your mate, Ada, and you love him. I like him, too. Now go, get him here. We can talk later.”

Thankfully the small garden in front of Lindir’s home was deserted. Nobody was even near and Elrond counted this as a good sign. His mate must have gotten out of the confrontation without leading someone to his house. He knocked and waited.

After a while, he heard the sound of keys and the door was unlocked and Elrond slipped inside. The hallway was dim and Lindir very pale in contrast to it, almost a ghost among the twilight. His hair was in disarray, as if he had pulled off his beanie and had forgotten to straighten it.

“Elrond”, he whispered and leaned in.

For a while, Elrond did not do much more than keep his arms wrapped around his mate and occasionally stroking his back for comfort. After some time, he let his fingers run through his beloved’s hair until it was falling down like water again.

“Come”, he whispered. “Arwen is waiting with a meal for us.”

Elrond brought Lindir to his home. He took some precautions, driving in circles. His mate was still shocked by what had happened and just stared out of the window, not reacting much to Elrond’s questions. He drove them around some blocks to make sure they weren’t followed by anyone. He kept an eye out for cars which could be behind them. Now that he had seen what could happen, he was not eager to lead them to his home where Arwen lived. She was too young to risk her privacy. Still, Elrond would never give up on Lindir.

They were well on the way to home as the minstrel finally snapped out of his thoughts. “Thank you. Thank you soo much”, he whispered. “I never wanted you to experience this.”

“It’s fine. We dealt with it”, Elrond said and pulled into the street he lived in. “It’s not your fault, so don’t even think about apologizing.”

Lindir swallowed hard. Elrond saw it and laid his hand on the upper leg of his mate.

“It was not your fault. What is it with those fire guys?”

“Another band”, Lindir explained. “I don’t know why the media came to the idea we had bad blood between us.”

“So it’s a rumour? Those die hard.”

“Unfortunately.”

Elrond brought Lindir into his house. Arwen had seen them come home and waited in the hallway for them.

“What happened?”, she asked, instantly gathering that something was the matter. Elrond was proud of her intuitive nature and her kindness.

“He had a run in with an unfriendly person”, he explained.

“I’m sorry”, she replied. “You should get into bed, I’ll make you some tea. Tea helps me when I feel upset”, she replied. “And I will put the meal away, I don’t think you’re hungry right now.”

“You don’t have to”, Elrond said. His daughter was so young, she should not be responsible for him.

“I want to”, she replied.

Elrond brought Lindir to the bedroom. Since the last time, he had changed the sheets and had cleaned the room once again. He helped his mate out of his clothes and into a comfortable long tunic. Together they sank down onto the bed.

A few minutes passed until Arwen knocked at the door.

“Are you decent?”, she asked, her voice thin but strong.

Elrond chuckled a bit. Right now, they were both comfortable and in their long tunics meant for sleeping. They were decent enough. “Come in!”

Arwen entered, carrying a tray with three mugs in her hands. One was her own, colourful mug. She had made it in a pottery course on summer at her grandparents home. It was painted with beautiful vines and strings of tengwar in silvery script were flowing around the base. The words were those of one very prominent poem in the old language. Elrond noticed Lindir staring at the mug and the script.

“That’s mine”, Arwen announced and snatched it away.

“I assumed as much”, he answered. “I know that poem. It is beautiful and very fitting for you, young lady.”

“You can read it?”

“Yes. In my line of work”, Lindir smiled as if he was telling her a secret, “It is of importance to be able to read the old language, as the source material is written in it. How come you know it?”

She turned her gaze onto Elrond and he nodded. “I taught her”, he said. “I learned it in school, for a similar purpose to yours.”

“I’ll be off now”, Arwen declared and vanished before anyone could say goodbye. Elrond was sure she was just in her room, working on her laptop or chatting with her friends from school. She would be fine. He lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip. The green tea his daughter had chosen tasted just how he liked it. She had a real talent for preparing tea. Elrond tasted a hint of honey in his drink. She really knew him and his habits very well. Lindir next to him took a sip as well and sighed. He seemed to enjoy the warm beverage too.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” His eyes were wide and shining with gratitude.

“It was the least I could do”, Elrond replied and laid an arm around his mate’s shoulders. “Will you tell me what happened?” The curiosity had been gnawing at him for the past hour now and wanted to be satisfied soon.

“I was grocery shopping”, the minstrel began, “And suddenly, between the rows for vegetables and fruit, someone held a recorder under my nose and asked me about why I hated the Spirits of Fire. I have no real opinion on them, I mean their music is great, but I don’t know the people behind it! And this was what I told them, but they would not leave me alone. Thankfully one of the clerks walked past me and somehow I was able to use them as a distraction to escape. It was not glamorous and I won’t be going back to the market.”

“I’m sorry you had to experience this”, Elrond whispered. “It was clever of you to use a distraction.”

“Still, I hated every second of it. I went home in circles to shake any possible tale. I heard too many horror stories of other celebrities. And I don’t want to lead them here. Neither you nor your children should be sucked into this hell.”

“It hasn’t happened yet. And if it should, we will deal with it together, alright?”, Elrond promised. The thought of media attention on his person made him sick to the stomach, but for nothing he would give up his new mate. Lindir was worth it and their relationship was becoming strong enough to not be shaken by the threat of the future.

After the tea had warmed them from the inside, Lindir fell soon asleep. Elrond felt him snuggle close. His minstrel was quite warm and a welcome weight on his chest. His breath was calm and heavy, close to slumber. His body was relaxed and small shudders ran through him, muscles finally loosening after the strain of the day. Elrond raised his hand and let it wander through the hair of his mate. It fell in silken strands down and spilled across his own bare chest. The single hairs almost tickled a bit.

In the morning, Elrond awoke with Lindir pressed against him in a position which the young would call _spooning_. The minstrel’s back was to his chest and his breathing was even. It was warm underneath the blanket and somehow both their sleeping tunics had slipped up. For this, it was possible for Elrond’s leg to be trapped between Linidr’s and his hand to be resting on the lower stomach of his mate. The elder was not sure if this was appropriate, but any movement would wake his mate, who was slumbering peacefully. He did not want to disturb his rest. The last day had been enough of an emotional turmoil for his beloved. His hand on his mate’s stomach began to slowly caress the skin in a soothing motion.

A shudder revealed Lindir was waking up slowly. Elrond smiled into the hair of his new mate and breathed out calmly. The sleep was still in his bones and a sense of security dwelled in him.

“Hmmm”, Lindir purred from deep in his throat as response to gentle touches. Elrond had not know his voice could become this low and sensual. A desire, like a soft current, began to course in his veins.

“Good morning”, Elrond whispered into his mate’s ear, equally as quiet.

“Don’t stop”, Lindir murmured and pressed back a little. The movement made Elrond aware of how much he was enjoying the calm morning himself. He let his right hand wander up, to his mate’s chest and continued his exploration there. This spurred his beloved into motion. He turned around and stared at Elrond. Their eyes locked and then they kissed and the kiss lasted for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a fade to black. Next week, it's time for planning the concert at the Minas Festival and the whole band will make an appearance again.


	23. Band Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning and Practice for the Minas Festival happens

It was four weeks until the Minas Festival and it was time to start planning. All members of the Imladrim Minstrels were back in Eregion, their vacation after the last tour over. During the time, Lindir had only seen Haldir once and Erestor twice. With the other musicians he had had only short phone calls. Tauriel had been travelling, where to she would not tell and Legolas had been with Haldir anyway. Despite being married, they were incredibly sappy all the time.  
Lindir arrived right on time and entered the building. His friends were already sitting at the table, sipping on their drinks.  
“So let’s start with the planning”, Haldir said as they were sitting around the great table of their practice room. It was time to make decisions for the festival in a few weeks. They would not have to do many rehearsals, as they were still in training from their last tour. Maybe three other songs would be added to the festival set, but those had to be some of the popular ones which the band knew well.  
“Any ideas?”, Lindir asked. “Mine would be to take the Harpist’s Lament out of our set. It’s not really suited for festivals in my opinion.”  
“Fine with me”, Tauriel said. “Do you think it would be possible for me to do a short drum solo?”  
“I don’t see why not”, Legolas answered her request. “What do you think?”  
They agreed on those two points. Lindir was glad to have the longer harp piece off the setlist. It was a slow and sad piece and it did not suit the festival mood much. He was glad his band-mates were of the same mind.  
“What about the Flight?”, Haldir asked.  
“For the encore”, Legolas said. “It’s one of the most popular songs.”  
“Fine with me”, Tauriel agreed and made a short note on her notepad. She always was the one to keep track of the decisions made at such meetings, a habit she had cultivated before the Imladrim Minstrels had been founded. She had a talent for the organization and would make sure Turgon received their decisions.

After being halfway through the planning, they decided to call it a day. They wanted to make some music still and begin with the rehearsals. Together they went into the room designated for it. The walls were sound proofed so the noise they made would not disturb the neighbours. Preparing this room had been the first thing the band had done when they had formed their group.  
At first, it was a disarray of everyone but Tauriel stumming their instruments, tuning them. The first song they player was The Flight.

“How’s it going with you new mate?”, Haldir asked while they were waiting for the food to arrive. They had ordered pizza from their favourite pizzeria three streets down. It would only take half an hour for their order to be there.  
Lindir smiled. “It’s going more than fine. He’s amazing, and his children are too. I think you know this, as your brother is marked for one of them.”  
Haldir chuckled. “He is. And he doesn’t tell me anything. I asked him once if Elrohir told him about you, but he said I’d have to ask you. He’s no snitch.”  
“There are no secrets he could tell you”, Lindir replied. “Of the bad things, the run in with the fan and the journalist, I have already told you. Everything is just soo comfortable and good.”  
“You are in love”, Haldir sing-songed. There was a reason why he did some of their growly background stuff, because clear singing was not his forte. But he had a point.  
“I may be”, Lindir conceded.   
“Aww”, Legolas cooed. Apparently he had listened in and found this the correct time to interfere. “Just don’t let Tauriel hear it. She is bitter enough already.”  
“What shall I not hear?”, another sharp voice interrupted. Tauriel threw herself onto the couch next to Lindir.  
The Minstrel saw no need in keeping her out of the conversation and he did not think her to be especially bitter. He fate so far had been cruel, with two missed connections already. “I am in love with my mate.”  
“Good for you”, she replied, no malice in her posture. She raised her hand and ruffled Lindir’s hair.  
“Hey!”, he protested.  
“I was wondering when you find it out”, she said with a sly grin. “During our last calls you already had that starstruck sound – hey, doesn’t your mate’s name start with an El-? Starstruck indeed.”  
“It does”, Legolas confirmed and laughed.  
Lindir laughed too. If one translated El from the Sindarin into the common tongue, it was star indeed. Tauriel was right, it was a bit funny in her context. She was also incredibly cheerful, a change from her usual cold demeanour when talking about the relationships of her band-mates. Lindir narrowed his eyes and regarded her for a moment. There was a blush on her cheeks and she seemed reasonably happy. He was almost sure something must have happened, but it would not be polite to pester her about it. Seeing her being so animated was a good sight indeed.

On the next day, they met early again. The planning and rehearsing wasn’t done and they would keep up meeting almost daily for the coming weeks. The Minas Festival was important to all of them and to their career. After such great performances, their fanbase grew larger. It was an opportunity to prove their worth, at least if one believed Turgon and the manager knew his numbers very well.  
They finalized the set-list until they were happy with it and began talking about special effects. If the weather would be on their side, they would play during the hour of the golden sunset on a stage which would be facing the west. Due to the sunlight, the usual spot-lights were probably not having the most spectacular effect. Bowls with fire would probably be the best and serve to install a festive mood in the audience. The Imladrim Minstrels had their experience with those. These should burn during their slower songs, which would be played somewhere in the middle and at the end of the set, before the encore. For the rock songs, the spotlights should be enough, as there the option of too much.  
“Which set up, decoration wise?”, Tauriel asked. “The leafy one of the last tour or the one we used at last years ‘Firedancer Festival’?”  
“I would prefer the Firedancer one”, Erestor said. “It has the better storing possibilities for my second and third instrument.”  
“I agree”, Haldir said. “But we could take a few things from the leafy one as well. Maybe the microphone holders? I saw a discussion about them on a fan site, these are well liked.”  
“Fine with me”, Lindir said. “I also would prefer using the robes we wore during that festival. They are light enough for summer and we have to expect some heat. The sun is probably going to shine into our faces the whole time.”  
“Oh shit”, Haldir cursed. He would be wearing his armour anyway. Lindir made a mental note to tell the stage hands to arrange for enough water to drink.  
What about bringing extras?”, Erestor wanted to know. “Has Turgon said anything?”  
“Not to my knowledge”, Tauriel replied. “So I guess the usual rules apply. Do you want to bring Glorfindel along?”  
“I would love to”, Erestor revealed. “He likes the festival as well and since we will be there for multiple days…”  
“It should be fine”, Legolas interjected. He was once again sitting on Haldir’s lap and grinning. “I mean, my mate is always with me at these things, so I understand you sentiment.”  
Lindir nodded and hoped. Glorfindel was always a welcome addition to their crew and as he knew enough about stages, he had been a great help sometimes. It would be good to have him. The blonde was an extraordinary technician and a good conversationalist. He had accompanied them often, once or twice even as part of their crew. Also, his presence made Erestor happy, so Lindir would never protest against having him tag along.  
“What about your mate?”, Tauriel asked. “Is he coming too?”  
“I haven’t asked him yet”, Lindir replied and swallowed. He stared at the table. He had meant to pose the question already, but with everything that had happened, it had seemed less like good idea. Now he wished his mate would come along. He was not sure Elrond wanted to though. The elder ellon had a tight schedule and did not listen to music often, as far as Lindir understood.  
“It would be amazing if he came along!”, Legolas said with a cheerful voice. “I want to get to know him!”  
“I bet you will”, Haldir rumbled. “Sooner or later.”  
“Ask him”, Legolas implored. “Ask him and don’t accept a no for an answer.”  
“I will ask him, but I will accept his answer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished writing this story, so there will be no delays with the uploads in the coming weeks.  
> Thank you for reading!


	24. Come with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindir asks Elrond if he wishes to accompany him to the Minas Festival for a few days

Asking the question was something Lindir put up for a few days. He was unsure of how he should phrase his offer and if Elrond would even be interested. In the end, he took up his courage one evening.

“Do you want to come to the Minas Festival with me and the band?”, Lindir asked over dinner. He had thought about posing the question for a while. It had been burning on his mind, especially after it had become clear Erestor would once again bring Glorfindel along. Turgon had already approved of the golden-haired ellon. He had also looked at Lindir with a questioning gaze. The singer had turned away in shame of his own inability to take action.

Elrond let his spoon sink down onto his plate. It settled there with a small clank.

“Do you want me to come along?”, he asked.

“Of course. I would love to show you this part of my life.”

“I’m just not very much into being in a crowd and sleeping in a small tent”, Elrond voiced some concern.

“You would be with me in the artist area, not in some shitty tent on the green.”

Elrond smiled. “Now I’m interested. Is this even possible?”

“Yes, no problem. Glorfindel, who is the mate of Erestor, is coming along too. And they asked me if you would come along.”

“All of them?”

“Yes! They want to meet you!”, Lindir explained. “Legolas even told me to not accept a decline, but it should be your decision to come along to the festival.”

“Aren’t you afraid of being seen by the press there?”

“Not really? There are bigger fish so to speak. And also scheduled interviews. Otherwise the journalists aren’t allowed in the artist area.”

“These rules sound too good to be enforced.”

Lindir smiled. “The founder of the festival, an old ellon called Cirdan, had been famous in his time. Now he only works on the festival, but he knows how to make his artists comfortable. Hence why he allows the partners to come along. At other events it’s always a bit of a hassle.”

“So the Minas Festival is unusual?”

“Yes, it is”, Lindir agreed. “Also it’s the biggest festival around. Almost eighty-thousand tickets have been sold.”

“The locations must be big”, Elrond mused. “Where exactly is it? Minas Tirith city is too crowded…”

“On the Pelennor Fields outside the city, in enough a distance to not disturb the inhabitants with the music. That old and mystic battlefield which is farmland these days.”

“The view to the city at night must be beautiful.”

“It is.”

Elrond expressed his interest in accompanying Lindir to the Minas Festival, but he was not able to confirm, as he was scheduled to work that weekend. He hinted at wanting to talk to his boss though, to see if an arrangement could be found. Lindir did not pressure him. If it wouldn’t work out, he was unwilling to make his mate feel sorry for it. Maybe he himself should have asked the question sooner and not make it such a surprise.

“Is your star coming along?”, Tauriel asked at the next meeting of the band. She was nosy for once. It suited her.

“I have asked him”, Lindir told her, “but he was not able to make a decision yet.”

“Why not?”

“He’s scheduled to work that weekend.”

“Oh”, she replied. Her expression switched to thoughtful. “What profession is he in again? It certainly seems to require a lot of planning ahead.”

“He’s a children’s doctor at the biggest hospital in Eregion”, Lindir explained.

Tauriel nodded. “I understand”, she said. “I hope you will find a compromise.”

“I’m sure. He hinted at maybe asking his boss for the days off.”

“Then good luck”, she said and switched the topic. “Are you ready for the rehearsal?”

“I’m ready”, he replied. “I even tuned the great harp.”

“Awesome!”, she chanted. “That finally allows us to include it into the practice. You need it!”

“Hey!”, Lindir protested. “I’ll have you know, I’m the best harpist around!”

“And the only one!”

“I got a surprise for you”, Elrond said smiling at the kitchen table.

“What is it?”

“I was able to take the days of the Minas Festival off. Strangely my supervisor seemed to be pleased about it.”

“You work too much”, Arwen said laughingly. “ElroThey won’t miss you.”

“I always fear something horrible is going to happen when I take off”, Elrond said and sighed. “I guess I should get used to it, for I am going to take more days off for you”, he looked at Lindir.

The Minstrel blushed. “That’s brilliant news!”, he exclaimed. It was. Elrond would come along to the Minas Festival! He could show his mate the greatest event of the year and what his life was about when he was gone on such things. Which was to be a lot of times, with how the career was going. Also the promise of more time together made him happy. So far, he had been using his whole energy for the Minstrels, but his muse was getting weaker. Composing was not an easy feat anymore. Maybe he needed some changes to refill his creative stores. More time with Elrond sounded awesome. He would also be able to get to know the children better. Elladan, with all his enthusiasm, was a beacon of joy. Sometimes he was a bit nosy, but it was fine. As part of the family, he was allowed to know and Lindir did not have to use the nicknames for his friends anymore. Elladan had been sworn to silence on the matter of his knowledge. His fan-boy-ing died also down a bit, which made conversation with him much easier.

“That’s amazing”, Lindir replied.

“I just have a few questions…”, Elrond declared.

“Which would be?”

“How do I get to the festival?”

“By bus. You will have a place in our tour-bus – you will meet my friends there”, Lindir explained.

“Oh?”

“Of course! Also, Erestor’s mate Glorfindel will be coming too. With you, there will be eight people plus the driver in the vehicle.”

“A whole bus for eight?”

“Enough place to store the equipment and the people”, Lindir laughed. “In the beginning, we only had a mini-bus, which was horrible. We had to keep the luggage on our knees even during long drives. No more, never again!”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Also, one can sleep in such a tour bus, which is wonderful.”

With Elrond conforming his coming along, Lindir was able to tell his friends. All reacted very favourably. Especially Legolas did, he practically bounced up and down in glee.

“Why are you so excited?”, Tauriel wanted to know. “He’s just Lindir’s mate!”

“I like meeting people dear to my friends”, Legolas chirped.

“Calm down a bit, would you?”, Haldir said softly and turned to Lindir. “Him meeting my parents was not funny.”

“Your parents are too calm.”

“And I am glad for it”, the silver haired one retorted. “Your father however…”

Legolas made a face and everyone chuckled. They had met Thranduil, Legolas father, years ago. The regal ellon had not been in a pleasant mood and he had not been invited to a concert since. Thankfully he had not protested the relationship between Haldir and his son.

“Ada, we have to tell you something”, Elladan said. The whole family was at the kitchen table, including Lindir, who had been invited.

The we referred to both the twins, as Elrohir smiled sheepishly at his brother’s words.

“Oh?”, Elrond asked and waited for his sons to talk more.

“Rúmil might have gotten me and Elladan tickets for the Minas Festival…”, Elrohir spoke.

“Isn’t it sold out?” Arwen was confused.

“Well, Rúmil’s brother, Haldir, he might have known someone who knew someone…”, Elrohir trailed off and glanced at Lindir sideways. Ah, the boys were connected well, Lindir thought. And they were clever. With their father going too, he would not forbid them from going.

“Are we allowed to go?”, Elladan begged.

Elrond sighed. “And who’s going to take care of Arwen?”

Silence fell at the kitchen table.

Arwen raised her head. “I can take care of myself, I am old enough to stay alone for a few days.”

“I’m gone for three, almost four days, your brothers even longer. I do not like this.”

“Please Ada”, Elrohir begged too. “Rúmil took soo much upon him to arrange the tickets for us, I want to spent the days with him.”

Even Lindir’s heart grew weak at their pleading voices. Elrond was not doing better. He sighed. “Fine, you can go. How do you plan on getting there anyway?”


	25. Verse IV: Wishes and Surprises

It was not a hard decision to make for Elrond. He knew his mate really wished for his coming along to the festival and he would fulfil that wish. After all, it was no hardship. It would just come as a surprise for some of his colleges. In the hospital, Elrond was know for not taking his overtime as vacation. Now he would, for the first time since Celebrían’s death.  
As expected, his boss raised his eyebrows far up, almost to his hairline. She had to make all the plans for the shifts and Elrond had to plead his case directly to her. Sigurd was a compassionate but stern woman, who deserved her position. She had earned it with years of hard labour and the ellon respected her.  
“Of course I’m granting you the whole weekend off”, she said. “I could not do otherwise.”  
“Thank you”, Elrond told her. “I was not sure you would.”  
“But why shouldn’t I?”, she replied with laughter in her voice. “You are the most reliable person I know and your overtime is frankly ridiculous. Have fun at the festival!”  
The visit with her left Elrond in good spirits for a while and he went back to his patients.

His mate was overjoyed when he told him he would come along.

Elrond himself was a bit less enthusiastic when his sons told him they would come along too. Of course they were old enough to make the decision for themselves and Rúmil was not a bad influence. Still, the idea of them meeting at the festival made Elrond a bit nervous. It helped when the boys told he was supposed to not-know-them if they should cross each others path somewhere in the crowd.  
Thankfully they would take turns driving the long way to Minas Tirith, it had been the one condition Elrond had voiced. Cars and tiredness did not mix well and he had seen his fair share of injured people in the hospital because of it. The children agreed readily and a mood of joyful anticipation settled in the house. The one remaining behind would be Arwen, but she had announced to go to her grandparents for that weekend, so she would be taken care of as well. Elrond was glad Galadriel and Celeborn agreed to the arrangement immediately. They would even come by to get the young lady two days before her brothers departed.

Elrond and Lindir continued to meet each other and the singer spent many a night at the peredhel’s house. During the day, both had their duties, as the Imladrim Minstrels were in the midst of the preparations and Elrond had much work at the hospital.  
The day for departure to the festival came soon. Lindir was gone after lunch, helping his friends with loading the bus with everything they would need. Elrond cleaned the house for a last time. It felt empty now that all the children were out and in different locations. As the sun set, Elrond got his own suitcase with his clothes and closed the door behind him.

The bus was ready, all instruments were on board. In front of the vehicle stood all the musicians of the Imladrim Minstrels and Turgon, their manager. It was deepest night and they were waiting in the headlights of the bus. The whole night would be spent on board, driving down hundreds of miles to the Gondorin capital city of Minas Tirith, on the outskirts of which the biggest festival of the season would take place. The Minas Festival, for Rock, Metal and Folk music lured almost eighty-thousand guests to the Fields of the Pelennor each year. Elrond had researched the festival after the first time his mate had mentioned it. He had been impressed. The history of the music event was quite colourful and spent almost a hundred years now. In six years it would be time for the great celebration. There was already talk on the internet of what the organizers were planning for the occasion. Several names of important bands were thrown around, even if there was no statement from the official channels.  
This year, it was the 94th instalment and it was a big one. All eighty-thousand tickets had been sold out in a matter of two days last year. It was surprising Haldir and Rúmil had been able to organize tickets for the twins at all. They had left a day ago, to set up their tents and make friends. Now it was Elrond’s turn to meet new people. It would be the first time he met the Imladrim Minstrels as Lindir’s mate. He had seen them at the meet-and-greet so long ago of course, but that had not really been an introduction as they had been celebrities then. Now he would meet them as people, as elves on the way to a job.  
They were already waiting, standing in the shine of the light in the night. They were a striking image, these five ellyn, tall and proud. Lindir was in their middle and he turned around as he heard the car approach. He smiled and waved. His face was a beacon and Elrond was drawn to him. There was a place for his vehicle and he parked it. It would remain in this place until he returned in a few days time.  
Elrond opened his door and stepped into the waiting arms of his mate. It was still warm outside as it was summer, but the warmth of his beloved’s arms was welcome. Elrond himself was wearing a black tunic he had bought for the occasion, made from fine fabric.  
“You look dashing”, Lindir commented and pressed a kiss to Elrond’s lips.  
“Thank you, my dear”, Elrond whispered. Too soon they left the embrace, but their hands intertwined almost without conscious command from their thoughts. “Introduce me to your friends?”  
Lindir did. He started with two ellyn with light hair. One was Haldir, Rúmil’s oldest brother and the one who almost always stood on stage with an old elven armour. He bore the muscles to do so at least. If it was the reason or the effect, Elrond could not tell. The other one was called Legolas, who was among the younger members of the band. His hair was of a shade more golden than Haldir’s platinum colour. He was quite charming and talked a lot. Elrond just listened and grinned. Through Lindir, he knew Legolas and Haldir were mated and married and seeing them together was interesting.  
Next, Lindir introduced him to an ellon of a darker complexion. He bore the name Erestor and it was impossible for Elrond to tell the age of the other. It was quite possible he was several decades older and yet no line showed on his face. With elves, it was nearly impossible to tell the age, as their lifespan could go up to four hundred. The oldest person of elvenkind Elrond had seen had been three hundred and ninety. Erestor had also brought his mate, a cheerful ellon called Glorfindel. The most remarkable feature of him were his long golden locks, for which he had been named.  
“And this is Tauriel”, Lindir said. “Tauriel, this is Elrond, my mate.”  
She was the only elleth of the band and had long auburn hair. It fell almost down to her waist and she wore it open. It was a bold statement and suited her well. From watching the Minstrels play live, he knew she played the drums masterfully.  
“Well met, Lady Tauriel”, Elrond said and bowed a bit. Immediately her face softened and she smiled a bit.  
“Well met, Elrond. And welcome on board”, she replied, a grin on her lips. “May you enjoy the madness of the coming days

The inside of the tour-bus was different from what Elrond had imagined. He knew there would be commodities for the celebrities and their entourage at the festival, as his research had indicated. Still, the bus would suffice for this, as the first half of it was made of bunks. There were twelve beds, of which only seven would be used. They would drive for the whole night, so it was a possibility they would go to sleep sooner or later. For the time everyone was awake, there was a round seating area towards the end of the bus. The seats there had seat-belts of course. Otherwise it would have been forbidden to sit there during the drive.  
Next to the seating arrangement was a cooler, probably with snacks and drinks. For the cups and glasses, there were indentations in the table. This would prevent them from falling over when the driver used the brakes.  
“Does this bus belong to you?”, he asked into the round.  
“Eru, no”, Erestor laughed. “These things are even above our pay. It is rented and the bus driver is of the company. They are based in Eregion and we are loyal, so we get the same vehicle most of the time.”  
“Ah. I had wondered.”  
“These guys are a bit attached to this one”, Turgon grumbled. “Thankfully the boss of the rental service is a good chap.”  
“Do you want a drink?”, Legolas asked. He was sitting next to the small cooler and had opened it already. “Let’s see.. We have mead, beer, wine, water and juices. What’s your poison?”  
“Just a water please”, Elrond said. The situation was so new, he did not need to get drunk right away. The next days were going to be exhausting even without a hang-over. To his surprise, Lindir agreed onto a small beaker of mead.  
“Tradition”, he said in a way of explanation.  
“He had been riddled with stage-fright the night before our first festival appearance, so we tried to calm him down with his favourite drink”, Tauriel elaborated. “Didn’t work and made for some hilarity. Somehow it became tradition for him to only drink a small cup before, for good luck.”  
“Well”, Lindir said and shrugged. “Also, it’s my favourite drink, so I don’t mind.” He leaned in and kissed Elrond on the mouth. His lips tasted of honey and wine.


	26. The first day of the festival

They arrived in the morning at the festival in their tour bus. The tents were rising towards the horizon already and a steady stream of cars was coming in. Thankfully there was a separate lane for the bands and they were led to the artist area. Lindir noticed how Elrond was staring. His sons were somewhere out there. They had refused to go with the Minstrels. Instead they had opted to take Rúmil up on his offer on driving. They had taken off a day prior and were surely somewhere on the camping area. Where exactly, Lindir did not know. He had the idea Haldir knew more but was not letting it on. The boys had told them to not search for them. At least they had agreed to come backstage after the concert was over.

“I’m glad were here”, Erestor sighed. He was cuddling with Glorfindel in his seat. The blonde ellon was not remarking on that and just smiled at his mate. “I hate the long drive.”

“Even if your mate is with you?”, Legolas teased him.

“We could have spent the time so much more productive”, Erestor replied with a dirty grin.

“Eww!”, Tauriel protested. “Haven’t you had enough holidays together already?”

“One can never have enough”, Glorfindel interjected with a sly smile which which was obviously targeted at Tauriel to tease her.

“I see”, she sighed. “But I’m not one to talk.” After she found a partner herself, she was much more calm when her bandmates were lovey-dovey. It suited her and helped the mood within the band.

The artist area was secluded from the festival area so the musicians were sheltered from the fans. Of course, some left from time to time to mingle and it was what the Imladrim Minstrels had planned for the second day. They wanted to watch some other bands live. For Lindir, his interest lay on the Spirits of Fire. It was high time to see and hopefully meet them, after all the media coverage about their ‘differences’. Maybe then finally these rumours would die.

They left the bus and were immediately greeted by Turgon. Their manager had come a day early as well, coaching on of the younger bands of their label, one who would play shortly after the opening of the festival on a smaller stage. It was already nearing the beginning of the festival and the fire would be lit as was customary for the Minas Festival. This was derived from the old stories of Gondor lighting big fires when calling for aid, for friends to come and help in times of war. No it was not a time of war, of course, but a call to the friends of the festival.

“Hey Turgon”, Haldir greeted. “Good to see you.”

“You too”, their manager replied. “How are you doing? Ready for the festival?”

“Of course”, Tauriel said and pushed her way through. “Is everything still how we discussed it? No late changes?” Her concern was founded. It would not be the first time a rescheduling came in.

“Nah. Your still on the same stage, same time-slot. Thankfully.”

“Good”, Lindir said. “Anyone here we know?”

“Yes. Your opener from the tour is here, Daeron with the rest of the Protected Realm. They’re on stage in one and a half hour, so it would be better for you to meet afterwards. You have to get your lanyards and badges from the administration first.”

They got their lanyards easily and without waiting. Thankfully Turgon had thought of announcing their guests as well, so there was no discussion needed to get the backstage allowance for Elrond and Glorfindel. The latter had joked previously he would just mime their tech guy if needed.

“I am glad they are allowing partners to come along now”, Erestor mused. “It is good they expanded this area to allow it.”

Lindir knew the festival had changed and grown in the past years and especially the artist area had benefited from it. It was also partly due to the rising number of bands which were one stage during the three days of the festival. It were now around a hundred or so, spread over five stages, most know the two main stages next to each other. These were constructed that way to allow one band to play and one to prepare. On one of those main stages, the Imladrim Minstrels would play when the sun went down in a few hours.

“I never thought I would see such a place”, Elrond whispered. “It is…”

“It takes getting used to”, Lindir finished for him. “Lacks personality, but it is functional, as most things are at a festival.”

“It’s like it’s own town, only existing for a few days a year”, Elrond observed. “It’s hard to believe all these buildings and stages will be gone in a week’s time.”

“Only the markings in the earth will tell for a few days longer of the festival, true. These days mean a lot to many people who come here, remember.”

“You told me something about Haldir having a special attachment to this event, right?”

“That he has. He and Legolas met here, years ago, at one of the last performances of Tauriel’s old band.”

“Seems like a lot of the Imladrim Minstrels’ early history was written here”, Elrond said and smiled. “Will you show me around?”

“Of course I will!”

The two elves did not leave the artist area that day. Haldir and Legolas went out of course, watching some other bands. They mingled with the fans, but were back at the appointed time to meet for the preparations. The sun was already setting in the west, a sign their performance would not be far off.

“The stage is already being prepared”, Turgon told them. As was customary at these festivals, the band had not much to do. Most of the work was being done by professional stage-hands, whose job it was to organize such things. Whilst one band was playing on the second main stage, the first one was to be reset and the other way around. Lindir was glad he did not have to do much, except for checking and tuning his harp. At least he could do this backstage. The other instruments were going to be checked by the workers as well, so there was not much to do besides to wait.

When they walked out on stage, the cheers of the crowd were deafening. They screamed load and agitated, ready for the show. Lindir glanced at the first lines, beyond he was not able to see much, for the spotlights were blinding him. There were quite a few fans in the first row. At least they wore some of the merchandise. They must have waited the whole day there, as it was hard to get places in the first row. They were already a bit exhausted, after having been in this place for the whole day.

In the back, Haldir began playing the bass guitar intro to _Doomed_ , which was the first song for the night. The band had chosen it early on to be a perfect opener, as it was quite popular and even the people who were not at the festival for the Imladrim Minstrels could possibly know it.

The mark came and Lindir began singing of the dark fate of the elven ancestors.

“That was quite the show”, Elrond remarked afterwards. He had watched from the side of the stage instead of in front of it. His face was flushed and it made him very attractive. Lindir looked around quickly and thankfully nobody was watching them. He pressed a kiss onto Elrond’s lips and then leaned in and deepened the contact soon.

“Thank you”, the Minstrel whispered as they separated. “Should we go and greet your children? They should be backstage by now.”

“Good idea”, Elrond replied.

Together they went down the last stairs of the stage and entered the backstage area. Despite it having an almost legendary reputation, it was just a place of transit. At the Minas Festival, it was the storage for stage equipment and only a small place was cleared for the musicians and their guests to talk. In Lindir’s opinion, the artist area was where the cool stuff happened, not the backstage. Of course, this differed from place to place, as in smaller concert locations, the two areas were actually the same.

A small group of elves was already waiting. Rúmil was talking with Haldir, obviously introducing Elrohir to his brother. Elladan stood next to them, getting introduced as well. He was just staring like he had seen magic, his gaze drifting from one musician to the other.

“He’s starstruck”, Lindir commented in a hushed tone.

“He is”, Elrond agreed and chuckled. “Look, Glorfindel thinks it’s hilarious.”

“He forgets that Erestor told us of his first job with a famous band. Not that I’m going to repeat this here, but he was starstruck as well, at least according to his own retelling of the story. Now, let us greet them.”

The twins were overly happy to see their father and Lindir made space for them. He smiled as he watched them hug and chatter. They were such a wholesome family.

“The boys are so excited”, Legolas said. He had approached on silent steps and whatever noise he had made, it had been swallowed by the cheering of the crowd as another band went on the second stage.

Lindir waited for a few moments until the sound had died down again and the music began playing. “Yes. But also so grown up. It is good to see them this excited.”

“Aren’t they usually?”

“So far they were rather shy in my presence”, Lindir replied. He had much more contact with Arwen and Elladan though, Elrohir had often been absent, staying with Rúmil. The twins were of age and Elrond allowed them their freedom and own choices.

“But they like you”, Legolas stated. “I heard how they talked about you.”

“Elladan certainly. He’s a fan of the band. But Elrohir..?”

“He adores you, at least as far as I can judge.”

“Thank you, Legolas.”

“Lindir!”, Elladan shouted suddenly as he saw him. The twin came running over the few steps and almost collided with the singer. A bit overwhelmed, the musician opened his arms and was greeted with a hug. The young ellon smelled faintly of mead and stronger of sweat mixed with endorphins. All the emotion and the bit of alcohol had seemingly done away with some inhibitions.

“Hello Elladan”, Lindir said to the boy in his arms. “Did you like the concert?”

“Yes! Soo much.” His voice was muffled against Lindir’s heavy robe and hidden underneath the cheers of the crowd. “You were amazing! You all.”

“Thank you for the praise. I am glad you liked the show.”

“I loved it! Do you know how flustered I was when I showed that backstage allowance to the security guy?”

“He stumbled over his own words”, Elrohir supplied. He had come closer and watched with amusement in his eyes. “The fanboy.”

“Hey! You weren’t better?”

“Oh? Shall I ask Rúmil for his opinion?”

“He’s biased!”, protested Elladan. “Towards you, dear twin.”

“Oh, fine”, grumbled Elrohir. “But Lindir will believe me anyway.”

Lindir did. It was hard for him to imagine Elrohir to be flustered by the backstage thing very much. He was certainly much calmer than his sibling, but not wonder. He was together with Rúmil and had had more time to process the situation. The Minstrel was rather fond of Elladan’s antics though. It was endearing to see him so happy. He soon went over to Haldir, who was still in his stage outfit and admired the armour from closer.

Elrond stepped back to Lindir’s side. “He’s happy and I think Haldir likes him too. It’s good they like each other, as I rather think they will be brothers in law one day.” It was a reasonable view at the future. The relationship between Elrohir and Rúmil was a stable one and profound. Their markings had deepened in colour over the time since they got them, at least as Elrond told the story. The future the doctor had spoken of was years ahead, but not unlikely. Lindir hoped he was at his mate’s side then.

“We should get back to the artist area soon”, Erestor cut their time short. “The next band will soon want to set up their stuff, so we should get out of the way.”

“Give them a few more minutes”, Lindir decreed, looking at Elrond’s sons. They would not go with them, they would go back to the crowd.

“Alright”, Erestor agreed easily and turned back to Glorfindel.

“We don’t have much time?”, Elrond asked, a bit of sorrow in his voice.

“Not here”, Lindir replied. “This is only intended to be a small meet-up area, for the time in between the different performances. But your sons can come to one of our rehearsals home in Eregion, if they do wish so.”

“Don’t tell Elladan or I shall hear of nothing else until it comes to pass”, Elrond joked.

Back in the artist area, the space had transformed into a bustling place. Many of the bands would stay for the night until in the morning they would travel home. The Imladrim Minstrels found them placed with their friends of the Protected Realm soon enough and shared stories of their summer. The latter were surprised to hear the Minstrels were allowed all days of the festival.

“Ah, well, we agreed to a meet-and-greet session tomorrow morning”, Tauriel explained. “Also, I have the hopes of meeting some old friends again, of my old band, you know.”

“Ah”, Daeron exclaimed. “Then you lucked out. We will be on our way home later tonight. I intend to take full advantage of the bar, do you want to come along?”

Lindir refused and watched as the rest of his band went with the singer away. Hopefully they weren’t drunk come morning light.”

“We’re not going with them?”, Elrond asked confused.

Lindir shook his head and smirked. “For you, I have other plans. Let me show you our shared tent?”


	27. On the Second Day

On the second day of the Minas Festival, Lindir woke up with a headache. It was not a bad one, but he had slept fitfully and he did not know why. He truly enjoyed their stay at the Festival and sleeping with his Mate in his arms was wonderful.

Lindir wiggled carefully out of Elrond’s arms and watched his sleeping partner. He was projecting calm and warmth to Lindir, which made the Minstrel smile. Still, his head was not getting better. Sleepily he walked to the small bathroom of their trailer and rummaged around in his bag for some painkillers. He took one pill, which should be enough. He then crawled back under the blanket and let Elrond wraps his arms around him. His Mate was awake, but obviously not in the mood to start the day. It was way too early for that.

They left their trailer around twelve o’clock for breakfast in the main tent for the artists.  They made their way through the building and Lindir greeted some of the artists he knew. Most of them had had their concert on the previous day as the minstrels had and were here as guests. This was the beauty of this Festival, as it allowed the artists to mingle in the biggest backstage area imaginable. At the table reserved for the Minstrels, there sat Turgon and a guy with long black black hair, in which golden ribbons had been braided in.

“Good Morning”, Lindir greeted them in passing. He and Elrond made their way to the buffet and took some food back to the table. Lindir had chosen some cereal and filled an additional plate with some bread and cheese. Elrond carried a plate with two buns, a small jar with red jam and butter. In a small bowl he had placed two hard-boiled eggs.

“Festival food”, Elrond said jokingly, when he noticed Lindir’s gaze. “At least my sons claims hard-boiled eggs and toast are the easiest food to take to a festival, because both things are not susceptible to rot.”

“Elladan I guess? He is not wrong.”

“May I introduce my brother Fingon”, Turgon said shortly after Lindir and Elrond arrived back at the table.

“Hello Fingon”, Lindir said. “You are here with the Spirits of Fire, right?”

The ellon laughed and his eyes sparkled. “Indeed I am.” He threw some of his braids that had fallen forwards back. “ Unfortunately they are still asleep, so I am the only one greeting you.”

“You arrived yesterday?”, Elrond asked.

Fingon smiled again. “We all did. At least me and my mate, we watched the concert of the Minstrels.” He turned to Lindir. “You were amazing on stage.”

“Thank you. We will watch the performance of your band this night too.”

“Awesome”, Fingon answered. “I will give you some passes so you can come behind the stage directly afterwards. It is a shame you’ve never met in person before.”

Lindir grimaced. “Yes. This is what allowed these strange rumours of bad blood between us in the first place.

“Oh yes, that interview”, Fingon sighed. “At least this will be behind us.”

L ater, Elrond asked Lindir about the rumours.

“I don’t know who came to the idea. Someone who needed drama, I am sure”, Lindir complained. “Yes, as Minstrels we have never shared a stage with the Spirits, but not because out of malice. They are more popular than we are and we were probably never on their radar.”

T here was also truth in the troubled history of the Spirits of Fire.  Eight years ago, they suddenly went on a hiatus for nearly two turns of the world. Afterwards they started with music again, but three of their members had left.  For them, musicians who had up to then been on hire for the label, stepped in fully.  Never had the Spirits of Fire explained why the had left and then resurfaced. All Lindir knew was, they had been five brothers once.

“So tonight will be the first time you meet them?”, Elrond asked further.

Lindir nodded. “Yes. I am a bit excited.  I know many of their songs and their lead singer M akalaur ё has a vocal range I am quite envious of.  And their background vocalist and guitarist, he’s amazing too, Maitimo they call him.”

T hey left the backstage area within the hour, to see some of the early bands. It was customary to let the lesser known acts perform before the headline acts late in the evening.  The later the timeslot, the more popular. The Imladrim Minstrels had played the second to last concert the night before.

Lindir did forego the usual mandatory hiding this time. He let his hair fall down open. It was still different from his stage look with the intricate braids, but stuffing it under a hat would have been more attention seeking. At the Minas Festival, most people had long hair, it was a widespread habit  of not only elves, but also  of the metal scene. Lindir and Elrond did blend in well.

“Are you afraid of been seen?”, Elrond asked. “If you don’t feel well in the crowd, just say the word and we go back to the safe area.”

“No, I am fine. At these festivals, there are more famous people around and the audience is more focussed on the act playing than celebrities mingling. I should be fine.”

Of course, some fans recognized Lindir, but most kept their distance. Somehow they seemed to be intimidated by Elrond’s presence, maybe they thought him to be a security guy.  Alone Lindir would have never gone into the crowd, his partner was correct on this account.

“Some of them recognized you”, Elrond whispered into Lindir’s ear. “Are you concerned they might guess you are mated?”

Lindir shook his head. “I doubt many of them will remember seeing me come morning. And if it comes up in some news, I am contemplating giving an honest answer. With your permission of course.”

Elrond nodded. “For my sake you do not have to hide. I would prefer to not see my name in a magazine though.”

“As I said, it is highly unlikely.”

T he evening came faster than both of them had anticipated. As promised, they got the backstage passes from Fingon and promised to come by after the show had ended.

Lindir and Elrond found a place with the back to a barrier, where they would not get caught in any audience action like circle pits and the like.  The Spirits of Fire were a Metal Band through and through  and the onlookers acted accordingly.

S o far, the crowd was amassing in front of the stage where the Imladrim Minstrels had performed on not two days ago. Now, the decoration on the stage was completely different. The banner in the background was obviously inspired by the latest album of the band, with the logo written in tengwar on it.

“Have you seen them live before?”, Elrond asked.

Lindir denied. “No. I have wished to, Makalaur ё , their lead-singer has an impressible range when singing and their guitarist, Maitimo, is an inspiration for Legolas. They are the only two brothers remaining of their original constellation.”

“Brothers you say?”

“Yes”, Lindir confirmed. “In the beginning, the Spirits of Fire consisted out of five brothers, but three left the band during their hiatus.”

“I haven’t heard of them ever before”, Elrond said, his thoughts seemed a bit farther away.

“You haven’t listened to much rock and metal, no wonder you missed a lot”, Lindir teased, after which the lights were dimmed. “It’s beginning.”

F rom their place, they did not have the best view up the stage, but the big screens at the sides of the stage came to life, showing the stage too.  For a few moments, there was silence, safe for the swoosh of the fog machines working, covering the stage in a white cloud. The light from above went from blinding to yellow and red, giving off the impression of flames and some actual flames were lit at the front of the stage. Pyrotechnics were to be expected.

Then the first member of the band walked on stage with measured steps. It was a woman in a white dress. Her arms were bare and she showed off her tattoos. Both arms were full-sleeves. The camera zoomed towards her face as she stepped up the podium to the keyboard.

All the while, a mighty bass guitar intro was playing and as she took her place, she started playing a melody harmonizing with the dark sounds.

Next up the stage was the bassist, carrying his instrument, obviously playing the background tunes. He had long hair, left open and seemed to enjoy the cheering of the crowd.  He wore a black tunic, but he had unbuttoned much of it, showing off his skin to the audience. On his right hand, three silver rings gleamed. All these details were shown on the screens with amazing clarity. The cameras must have been of the highest quality.

Third up the stage was a guy with long blonde hair. He did not make much of a drama out of his entrance, he just climbed up to the drums and joined the music.

Lindir leaned against his mate and watched. Any moment now, Makalaur ё and Maitimo would enter and the show would begin with a bang.  It was to be expected from this kind of foreplay, pun intended. Lindir felt Elrond put his arm around his shoulders, pressing a chaste kiss to his hair.

And then Elrond tensed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next close will be the climax! Some of you might already suspect what is coming :)


	28. Chorus: Son of Fire

Elrond thoroughly enjoyed seeing Lindir a bit more carefree. So far, they had kept their relationship very secret and had not taken any risks, partly because of the band’s wishes. Now, at the festival, Elrond got to see the freer side of his mate. Lindir was creative spirit and sometimes Elrond wondered how his beloved was able to tame his wish for exploration.

Now, Lindir had basically drawn him out of the artist area into the crowd of the Minas Festival. It was a welcome distraction. Elrond had almost expected they would be hiding out in the secluded place throughout the rest of the festival. Lindir had done a lot of talking with other artists the day before, so it had been likely he would do the same again.

Instead, Lindir had left the area as soon as it was possible without drawing too much attention. It was true, his beloved blended in well with the crowd, both of them did. Long hair seemed to be the standard amongst the attendees of the festival. No matter of gender, background or age. Elrond noticed with a bit of confusion some human males swinging their hair around to the rhythm of the music.

“Headbanging”, said Lindir as if one word would be explanation would be enough.

“What purpose does it server?”, Elrond asked.

Lindir shrugged. “Showing the appreciation for the music, I guess.”

“Oh.”

“I have tried it. It gave me muscle cramps and headaches. I do not recommend it.”

They passed thought one of the food courts, where Elrond bought some snacks for them. The snacks consisted of two bowls of Rohanian Vegetable Stew. It was the only food he could find in which the ingredients had not been fried to death or had run upon four legs once.

“Festival food”, Lindir just regaled him with his assessment.

“My doctor brain just kicked in”, Elrond muttered. “It is all very unhealthy.”

Lindir leaned in and gave him a kiss between bites. “May be, but energy is the main concern at a festival. There are some people standing in the first row all day, because they want to experience their favourite band up front.”

Elrond just shook his head. “I hope this isn’t your plan for the later concert of the Spirits of Fire.”

“I am not suicidal, thank you.”

The evening rolled around very fast. Lindir showed Elrond his favourite drinks station. So far, they had kept themselves hydrated by using the free fountains around the festival. These had been installed after a particular heated summer around ten years ago. In that year, many attendees had fallen unconscious because of dehydration, as Lindir told the story. In Elrond’s opinion, these fountains had been the best idea of the century, at least when one only considered festival infrastructure, not that he was an expert.

Lindir got them free drinks for a smile and an autograph. When Elrond asked him about it, the Minstrel just lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “Believe me, I wanted to pay.”

“I guess this is not the first time this has happened?”

“No. I still don’t understand it, I would have given them the autograph anyway.”

A gain Elrond was surprised by the peculiarities of being the mate of a celebrity.  He chose not to comment on it and took a sip of the drink Lindir had placed into his hands. It was mead with cherry juice. It was sweet and heavy on the tongue.  A fine drink.

“Good choice, Lindir.”

Lindir smiled. “Thank you.”

After finishing their drinks, Elrond took a look at the sky. The  sun was already vanishing on the horizon and in the east the first stars were shining. “I think it is time to walk towards the stage.”

His mate took his hand and pulled him into the correct direction. Without him as guide, Elrond would have never found the way. The Minas Festival was just massive, with at least five stages and confusing waypoints.  It showed him how at home Lindir seemed to be at such events. Again, no wonder, Lindir was an artist who had performed at many of these.

T he stage was already dressed when Elrond and Lindir came into view. To Elrond, it was the first time seeing a stage in such a condition. The decoration differed greatly from the one used by the Imladrim Minstrels. Where they were based around nature and historic elven architecture, the Spirits of Fire took a more  _metal_ approach.  Instead of wrapping everything in leaves, they used podiums made to look like  smooth  stone. The microphone holders were made out of a combination of metals, at least as far as Elrond was able to identify. The big screens helped a lot. Now, before the concert, the feed showed the stage, the audience, the logo of the Minas Festival and the line-up in intervals.  He was also able to make sense of the strange metallic tubes placed around the stage. These were probably these controlled fire things he had seen other bands use the day before.

A s the lights finally dimmed down Elrond was for a moment glad for the lessening of the strain on his eyes. The spotlights had been a bit extreme. With the darkening, silence settled. At least as much as a crowd of several thousand people could be. When bass line set in, the audience began to cheer in excitement and Elrond suddenly understood why Elladan craved being in such a crowd. It was an experience, like being part of something held together by the enjoyment of the music.

The first person out on stage was a woman in a white dress. Her gait resembled a bit Arwen’s. She was a lady and not afraid to show it. She went to the keyboard which was placed on the right side of the stage. There a blueish light highlighted her figure from behind as she began to play.

A few accords later, a very tall ellon entered the stage. He wore his black hair open and played his instrument while walking. He was obviously the origin of the bass music currently being broadcasted over the speakers. Shortly behind him followed another elf, one with slightly curly hair. He resembled Elrond’s mother in law quite a bit, at least the facial features seemed a bit similar.

Elrond felt Lindir’s excitement and laid an arm around his mate. He leaned in and the elder placed a chaste kiss atop his beloved’s head.

The crowd began to cheer and Elrond looked up and stiffened.  This could not be. Absolutely not. But. He tried to get his thoughts under control.

There, up on the stage, were two ellyn he knew. Logically he  deduced these must be Makalaur ё , lead singer of the Spirits of Fire and his brother Maitimo, the guitarist.  Elrond knew them under different names.  He was sure these were his adoptive fathers Maglor and Maedhros.

“Are you alright?”, Lindir whispered in his ear concerned.

Elrond numbly nodded. He could not voice the revelation yet. He barely understood himself. A small nagging in his mind grew, he had to tell Lindir his suspicion before they went backstage, meeting the Spirits of Fire. Of course he had told his mate about his lost fathers, but he had never expected to see them at a festival. On stage. They looked so different, compared to forty years ago. Maglor’s voice though, Elrond would never forget. His father had always been musically gifted, often singing in their living room. His dark brown hair was now long, reaching down to his hips. He had worn it in a short cut then.  Maedhros was barely recognizable. He was scarred, horribly so. The cameras did not show him often on the big screens. There were cuts in his face and a burn mark on his right cheek. Elrond was sure these were real. Some bands tended to work with heavy makeup, but as a doctor he was able to spot the difference immediately. The reluctance of the camera-operators spoke volumes.  The h a ir was the same red colour and curly length as in Elrond’s memory.  He barely was able to listen to the loud music blasting from the speakers. He stood frozen, watching the ellyn he called fathers walk across the stage.  Maglor, now Makalaur ё had an incredible presence. The audience reacted to him beautifully, as it did to Lindir.  His mate was currently singing silently under his own breath, forming words with his lips, eyes half closed.

Somehow Lindir must have noticed Elrond’s slightly shocked expression, because he stopped swaying to the music.

“Elrond? Love?”, Lindir asked and stroked his arm.

H e turned to his mate, who watched him with big eyes.

“Tell me what is wrong”, the younger pleaded. “You are awfully motionless, my dear.”

Elrond swallowed and took his beloved’s hands. “Not here. Is there some place more quiet?”

“Yes”, Lindir said and pulled him away from the stage towards a tent at the side, out of the direct blast radius of the speakers. They arrived at the area and it was truly more quiet there.

“What happened?”, Lindir asked. “Do you hate the songs?”

“I barely listened”, Elrond confessed and leaned in. Lindir hugged and held him there. Elrond needed the closeness and remained silent for a while. Outside the tent, Maglor’s voice was singing about the old tale of Beren.

They separated after a minute or so, but Elrond kept Lindir’s hands in his. He let his head hang down a bit. “Makalaur ё and Maitimo”, he whispered. “I think they could be Maglor and Maedhros.  My foster fathers.”

L indir did not question his words and nodded. “Alright. We will meet them shortly, so you can talk to them.”

“I do not know, if they are”, Elrond continued with his stream of consciousness. “They look so different. What if I am mistaken?”

“We will find out, love. And even if you are mistaken, I don’t think they would be cruel about it.”

E lrond leaned in again. “What if I am right?”, he asked into Lindir’s ear. “What shall I say?”

“I think you are asking the wrong person these questions”, the Minstrel replied softly. “Half the time I don’t even know what to say.”

This wrenched a smile off of Elrond’s lips. For being a famous minstrel and writer of songs, his mate was sometimes lost in simple conversation, this much was true. Now, it did not help quench his uncertainty. “Can you introduce us, please?”

“I never met them myself, this would awkward. The role will be Fingon’s, I think. He’s their manager after all and very proper from what I glimpsed of his personality.”

Elrond took a deep breath. “Alright.” He was a doctor after all. He should be used to uncomfortable situations. “I think we should go out and watch the rest of the concert.”

Lindir smiled carefully. “Yes. Then you can tell them how awesome they are on stage, right?”

Elrond just nodded. He was aware his mate liked the performance of the Spirits of Fire very much and he was impeding watching them.

Watching the show to it’s end only strengthened Elrond’s suspicion. Especially when at the conclusion Maitimo took a microphone and thanked the audience for their enthusiasm. The voice resembled the voice of Maedhros. It was only a bit darker and raspier now. The crowd cheered at the words and Lindir was screaming with them.

After the revelation, Lindir had continued to enjoy the music and sing silently. Elrond had watched him for a while, his mind still reeling. He could not find it in himself to disturb his lover with his thoughts.

The band went off stage after the last encore and Lindir took Elrond’s hand again. “Sorry”, he said. “I got carried away a bit.”

“Don’t be sorry, I liked watching you”, Elrond said. It was the truth. Looking at his mate, dancing slightly and being at peace had helped. Otherwise Elrond would have probably gone a bit mad.

“Okay.” Lindir took his hand and looked him in the eyes. “Are you ready to meet the Spirits of Fire?”

“No”, Elrond answered. “But I suppose you won’t spare me, right?”

“Right”, Lindir stated and then went quiet. “If you don’t want to confront them, I would understand.”

Oh how considerate his mate was. Elrond’s heart swelled with love and he shook his head. “No, I will go with you. This is my chance.”

“Seriously, Elrond. You told me what happened when Maedhros and Maglor left you behind. If it too painful for you, we can just go. Go home.”

“I have to see if they are who I think they are. If they are, I want to know why.” It was one of the things Elrond had learned from his psychology courses at university. Avoidance was not for him, he had to confront them.

Lindir nodded. “Come on. I know where the side entrance to the backstage area is.”


	29. Behind the Stage

Together, they made their way through the crowd. Some of them were still cheering, even if it was certain the concert was over.

“They are already waiting for the last band of tonight”, Lindir chuckled. “Nobody of them will be able to speak without a rasp come morning.” There was a bit of mischief he let flow into his tone, in hope of

“How long until the next band?”, Elrond asked.

“An hour, approximately. The ones singing are the hardcore people who do not want to loose their place in front of the stage.”

“They remain her for an hour?”

“Some of them certainly have been here the whole day”, Lindir added. “Fan-culture has it’s strangenesses.”

Elrond nodded absently.

They arrived at the gate entrance to the backstage area and Fingon was already waiting for them. “There you are, I was almost worried you wouldn’t show.”

“We almost didn’t”, Lindir answered. “Getting through the crowd was a bit of a hassle.”

“I am glad you made it”, the black haired ellon said exited. “The rest of your band is already here, by the way.”

The bouncers let them pass and Lindir was glad, because some of the bystanders had recognized him and had started asking for autographs from the sidelines. He was not in the mood for indulging fans, he had a mate to worry about.

Elrond was walking very slowly, his expression a bit anxious.

“Fingon, do you have something to drink here?”, Lindir asked. “I think Elrond would need some water.”

Fingon nodded, blanched, and took off.

Lindir had finally a few moments to look after his mate. “Are you alright?”, he asked. He could not imaging how his lover must be feeling.

Elrond had told him about the past, about the feelings he had for Maedhros and Maglor. Now Lindir wasn’t even sure if they were the same people as the artists of the Spirits of Fire, but it was a real possibility. And Elrond had suffered because they had left him and Elros without a word.

“No”, Elrond answered. “But I will be.”

The rest of the Imladrim Minstrels were already in the backstage area. The Spirits of Fire were not among them yet, probably still involved in removing their equipment from the stage.

“Hey Lindir, there you are!”, Legolas said. “Oh, hey Elrond! Cool you are here too!”

“Hello Legolas. Yes, Fingon was so nice to invite me too.”

Lindir was a bit surprise how well his beloved could switch to business and friendly, hiding the inner turmoil.

“I am a bit excited to meet them”, Legolas said. “I mean, Maitimo’s skill with the guitar is second to none and he has been a great influence on myself.”

“He is truly amazing”, Lindir agreed. Then he leaned in. “Do you know where he got the scars from?”

Legolas shook his head. “Some kind of accident, but he does not talk about it in interviews.”

“Okay”, Lindir said and looked over at Elrond, who was leaning against a tent-pole in the background. He wanted to go over to him, but he had to be prepared.

Fingon was standing with Tauriel at the moment, taking to her and looking excited about something. Lindir went over to them and listened. They were talking about Tauriel’s old band, which had disbanded eight years ago. Somehow, Fingon had known them.

“Ehm, sorry”, Lindir interrupted. “Can I ask you a question?”

Fingon turned towards him. “Of course. It will take a few more minutes for the Spirits to join us, if that was what you wanted to know. Clearing the stage always takes a small eternity.”

“No, not my question. How should we address them? Using the stage-names?”

“They will introduce themselves, I think”, Fingon answered.

Tauriel just rolled her eyes and walked towards the stage. “I will see if they help”, she shouted.

Lindir just waved at her and looked Fingon dead in the eye. “I need to know Makalaurё’s real name. My mate is a bit anxious about meeting him, because he looks like his lost foster father. His name was Maglor.”

The shocked expression on Fingon’s face told Lindir everything he needed to know. Elrond was correct. These musicians had been indeed his guardians.

Before any of them could react, the curtain blocking the view to the stage lifted and the Spirits of Fire walked through the gap.

The red-haired one, Maitimo, ran up to Fingon and swept him up in an embrace. Lindir took the distraction for what it was and made his way over to Elrond. Who was staring at the scene. Lindir took his arm and projected calm to his mate.

Fingon was whispering something in the guitarist’s ear and they separated.

Maitimo stared right at Elrond. His scarred face was now contorted into something akin to sorrow. “Maglor. Come here”, he said loud enough for Lindir to hear.

Elrond did not miss the revelation. He stiffened and watched as Maitimo, Maedhros, stepped closer. Lindir made the executive decision to step forward.

“Hi”, he said, higher and pitiful of voice. “I am Lindir, also call the Minstrel. Form the Imladrim Minstrels. It is good to meet you. Also, this is my mate, Elrond.”

This stopped Maedhros in his tracks. “Hello Lindir”, he said and then sighed. “Your expression tells me, I do not need to tell you my name.” Then he turned towards Elrond. “Hello Elrond. It’s been a while.”

Lindir froze and watched. By stepping forward, he had hoped to defuse the situation a little bit, but everything was as tense as before.

Makalaurё, Maglor, came over too. “Mae, what’s up?”, he asked. “You…”, he trailed off. Then his eyes lit up. “Rondo?”, he asked, uncertain and with wavering tone.

Lindir knew not how he should react. He felt like an intruder. On the other hand, he did not want to leave Elrond, his mate seemed like he needed the support.

“Maedhros”, Elrond said, his voice wavering. “Is this truly you?”

The read haired guitarist nodded solemnly. “Yes, though I may look different than you remember me.” A single tear ran down the ellon’s scarred face. Maglor had stepped beside his brother, holding him.

And then Elrond broke down. “I thought I had lost you forever.” He started to cry and let himself be hugged by the two eldest Spirits.

Fingon appeared beside Lindir and touched his shoulder carefully. “I think they need some privacy. Do you think you can help me distract the other people?”

“I do not want to leave Elrond”, Lindir replied. “But I suppose you are right, they need a few moments without us watching.”

They went a few steps aside, more did the backstage area not offer. Lindir toned his voice down. “I did not expect this sudden revelation”, he said. “The drawing Elrond showed me of Maedhros…”

“It was before his accident I guess”, Fingon mused, his look forlorn until it found his mate who was standing so close to Elrond.

“Accident?”, Lindir asked and then thought better of it. “Sorry. I did not want to overstep.”

“No, I think you need to know to understand what happened. It was a bad car accident and it is a wonder he survived. Somehow his larynx got damaged. His growling is pretty impressive, don’t you agree?”

“Oh yes. He’s amazing and it’s a perfect contrast to Makalaurё.”

Fingon nodded. “He stayed long in the hospital and it was where I met him. He was ill for long and Maglor wasn’t better off, as the twins had been taken to a nursing home. The adoption was never legal, so they had no claim. When Maedhros and Maglor were better, we searched but never found the children.”

“When was this?”

“A bit more than forty years ago”, Fingon told him.

This told Lindir much. It was the tenth of the lifespan of one of Eldarin decent and more winters than the Minstrel could claim his own. It was a long time.

“Truth be told, I never thought Maedhros would find Elrond again”, the black-haired ellon said. “He was heartbroken because of it and am glad his fёa will heal now.”

“I am glad they found each other. Elrond spoke with longing and sadness of his adoptive parents.”

“It is good to hear. Maedhros always feared they had wronged the children somehow.”

“I guess I should thank the journalists who invented those rumours about the disagreements between the _Minstrels_ and the _Spirits_.”

“I wouldn’t thank them”, Fingon replied. “Even though it would be funny to see their faces.”

“Yes, it would be. But I think we could get rid of the press some other way.”

“Agreed”, Lindir said. “But let’s get back to the artist area, to give them some privacy.”

The whole way back to the more private area, Elrond walked between Maglor and Maedhros, talking and listening. He sometimes turned to Lindir, smiling brightly and there were unshed tears in his eyes. The minstrel smiled to encourage his mate as he went the way with Haldir and Fingon at his side.

“It is always good to see such reunions”, the silver haired ellon gave voice to his thoughts. “Not that I have seen one before.”

Fingon and Lindir just shared a look. They shared the sentiment and watched their mates walk in front of them. The minstrel hoped for them all to become family one day.

“Are you and Maedhros bonded?”, he asked for a lack of better conversation. He had gathered those two were marked as mates and had been for a long time, but it was uncertain if they had done the ceremony.

“Yes, we are. We had our bonding ceremony twelve years after our marks developed.”

“You waited long”, Haldir remarked. “Me and Legolas, we only waited two.”

“There was the small matter of his father truly hating me for who my father is. They were the greatest rivals once.”

“Your history sounds intriguing”, Haldir remarked.

“Trust me, this is not the extend of it. You don’t really want to know everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are highly appreciated! If you want to keep up to date, please consider suscribing or creating a bookmark. I will try to update once a week, depending on how fast the writing and editing flows.


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